Nothing Seems Certain But Change
by Silvermissstt
Summary: A few months after Annie's adoption in July, she, Oliver, and Grace are beginning to get acquainted in their new lives. However, change seems to be coming at every corner and neither of the three seem prepared to handle what new obstacles they face.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I am posting yet another Annie fanfiction but this time, it comes with a twist. I am collaborating on this with my friend Markaleen, whom I have grown fairly close to the past couple of days. We both have an insane love for Annie, and so, we decided to do our own story together on what happens after the 1982 Annie. Markaleen is writing odd numbered chapters and I, even. Don't worry about our other stories being discontinued, though. We are both dedicated to them still, just thought this would be fun to create! Enjoy!

* * *

><p>So much had changed in the Warbucks house in only a matter of months. To start, the infamous tyrant Oliver Warbucks had not only invited an orphan to stay at his house for a week, but he then adopted her! Somehow this little orphan girl had managed to change his cold and careless heart into a warm and loving one. No one knew how, but they decided it was best not to question it. For the first time in his life, Oliver was happy. He had Annie as his daughter, and he had Grace Farrell as his wife. Oh yes; that's another thing among the many changes. Since Annie had arrived, she'd made it clear that she wanted to see Oliver and Grace together. She knew for a fact that Grace had feelings towards her employer. Meanwhile, she had a hunch that Oliver felt the same way about his private secretary. He just needed a little push. Okay, he needed a shove. He could be quite oblivious and stubborn! But finally, Oliver realized that he needed Grace by his side—as more than just his secretary.<p>

They were married 2 months after Annie's adoption. The little girl couldn't have been happier with her new parents. They might not have been her birth parents, but they were pretty wonderful. They were everything that she dreamed parents would be. They were there for her whenever she needed them, they had fun with her, they laughed together, they read and told her stories, they took her to great places, and best of all, they were there to tuck her in and give her a kiss goodnight—every night. What more could a kid ask for?

Just when the Warbucks family thought that they were starting to get used to their new life, autumn came which meant yet another change: school for Annie. During the summer she'd had a tutor to prepare, and yet somehow Oliver and Grace had failed to prepare themselves for this eventuality. True, with Annie in class they'd be able to get back into a more regulated work schedule, but they'd miss her dearly. A permanent tutor was considered for a while. But in the end, they decided against it. Annie had spent her entire life in an orphanage. She was used to constantly being surrounded by people. Sure, she was surrounded by people at home, but it wasn't the same. She needed to have friends closer to her age. School would be a good experience for her. Besides, despite the fact there were loads of activities for her to do in the house she was bound to get bored at some point. She seemed to hang around Oliver and Grace most of the time anyway—even when they were working. Boredom was often present when she sat quietly in the office. Yet, she didn't leave. Events like this helped her parents come to the decision to enroll her in school.

Due to her tendency to 'cling' to them, Oliver and Grace were a bit concerned about how Annie would react to the idea. Much to their relief (and maybe even surprise), she was ecstatic. It would be great making new friends. Most of the girls at the orphanage had been adopted (thanks to Oliver) and weren't around anymore—except for Duffy who now also lived on 5th Avenue. However, she was going to be attending a different school than Annie, so she was going to see less of her either way. Pepper lived clear across the city, Tessie lived in Connecticut, and Kate lived in upstate New York. July and Molly were still at the orphanage, but Annie had eavesdropped on one of Oliver's phone conversations and it sounded like July would soon be moving to Boston. She was so happy for all of her friends, though she missed them. Also, she felt terrible for Molly. How could she not have found parents yet? It's a known fact that the younger kids tend to be adopted first. How come Molly was going to be the last? It simply didn't make sense. Her heart broke for her younger friend. Annie would always tell her in all certainty that she was going to find parents of her own someday. Now she was going to be all alone at the orphanage. Even though Miss Hannigan no longer ran the establishment, it must be scary for her with all of her friends gone. And even though there were still plenty of other girls around, Molly had always been relatively shy. Despite the fact she'd been at the orphanage for over two years now, she'd pretty much kept to Annie and the other girls in her dorm. What was she going to do now? _Hang in there, Molly._

…

Annie had been correct about July being adopted by parents from Boston. Naturally, she insisted that she go to the orphanage to say goodbye when she left (and to check on Molly). Oliver and Grace obliged, of course. Though, they agreed before they realized that July would be leaving the night before Annie's first day of school…

"They won't be picking her up until after dinner." Grace explained. "I don't want you to be too tired the next day."

"Aw, come on, mom! I'll be fine, I promise." Annie insisted. "I got to see the other girls with their new parents. I want to meet July's. Maybe if they like me enough they'll be sure to come back and visit."

"Sweetheart, I promise that you'll see her again. Her new father and your father have quite a working history together. You'll run into each other on many business trips, I assure you."

"It's just not the same." the child sighed.

"I know it isn't…" Grace felt bad. She knew it was important for her daughter to see her friend off, but the timing was just so poor. Maybe there was some way to rework the plans. Or maybe Annie would be willing to compromise and agree to see July before dinner. She wouldn't be able to meet her new parents, but at least she'd get to say goodbye beforehand.

"Well," Annie said, interrupting her mother from her thoughts. "I'm gonna go read or somethin'." She quickly turned and started making her way out of the room, but stopped when she heard her mother call after her, "Wait, Annie."

"Yeah?"

"Look, I'll think about it and I'll talk it over with your father, alright? I'm not going to promise anything though."

A smile instantly appeared on the little redhead's face and she flung her arms around her mother. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome."

Without another word, Annie ran off—either to read or to start coming up with reasons why she should visit the orphanage that Sunday—and Grace decided to waste no time in talking to her husband.

…

"Oliver, would you at least consider it?"

"Grace," the billionaire barked, "I thought that we were going to spend that night together as a family before she started a whole new life!"

Rolling her eyes, Grace replied, "You're being a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"Not in the slightest. It is a new life. From now on until she graduates—I'm not even going to think about college right now—she'll be a schoolgirl. For 7 hours every weekday we won't get to see her. And what if she makes friends? She'll want to go over to their houses to play and she'll want to have friends over here. And that's not even including any extra activities she decides to join. We'll never see her."

"I guess I never thought about it like that…" she frowned, but quickly recovered. "Still; we decided that this was important for her, remember? We'd be working those hours anyway. You said yourself the other night that…" she looked around to be sure they were the only two in the room before continuing in a very hushed tone, "You said yourself that all of the distractions these past few months have been starting to affect the company."

"I know, I know." he huffed. "I've… I've just gotten used to having her around. I always hear parents say their kids grow up too fast. Now I know what they mean. It's even faster for us. We missed the first 10 years of her life."

"It's hard," she said sympathetically, "but what can we do? I hate seeing her grow up just as much as you do, believe me. But it's not as if she'll be away at boarding school. She'll only be a few blocks away. We'll have the afternoons together, she'll be home on the weekends and during breaks, and we can focus on getting your business running smoothly again."

Running a hand down the length of his face, Oliver breathed and looked up intently at his wife who was standing before his desk. "It bugs me when you're right, you know that?" Grace simply smirked, and then Oliver concluded, "Okay, we'll take her to the orphanage on Sunday… but until then, she's all ours!"


	2. Chapter 2

For the rest of the week, at Oliver's insistence, he and Grace spent as much time as they could with Annie. Of course, they still had to focus on his business and make sure that no harm was being done by him spending so much time with the little girl, but they were able to get a good amount done when Annie went to bed each night.

"I'm glad that we've found homes for Annie's friends," Oliver commented one afternoon as he and Grace worked. Annie was at a tennis lesson with the Asp. "I'm sure that they'll be much happier with parents of their own now,"

Grace smiled. "I think Annie is just relieved more than anything. She told me that back at the orphanage she would always take care of the younger girls, so I'm sure that knowing they're safe and away from Miss Hannigan is a huge weight off her shoulder,"

Oliver chuckled. "She's got quite the personality. I still can't believe she managed to let us go see July the night before school starts." He shook his head, "I still don't think it's a good idea, Grace. I don't think she should be out so late,"

Grace took him by the hand and smiled. "I know, dear, but this is something that's very important to her. She'll manage. We aren't taking her there until almost seven and it shouldn't take her too long to say goodbye. We should be home by eight thirty at the latest,"

Oliver sighed and nodded. "Maybe you're right. I think I've had enough work today. We should do something with her. She only has three days left of summer,"

Grace glanced at her watch. "I couldn't agree more, but her lesson with the Asp isn't due to end for another half hour. We could probably finish quite a bit in that little time, don't you think? Annie is content for now,"

"I suppose so," Oliver replied, sighing again. Grace smiled, her affection for him growing tremendously at how sad he was at the thought of Annie leaving. It was crazy to think that just a mere three months ago he was yelling at the staff nonstop and now he was almost in tears thinking about one little ten-year-old redhead becoming a schoolgirl. She got up and came over to kiss him, passionately and deeply.

With this distraction, let's just say that little work got done in the last half hour of Annie's tennis lesson.

Sunday came faster than either Grace or Oliver would have liked. In the three days leading up to Sunday, though, they did their best to make the most of the time they had together. On Thursday, after Annie's tennis lesson, the small family of three went to a picnic at the park and spent the afternoon enjoying nature, something that Annie had very rarely been able to do at the orphanage. On Friday, Annie insisted that they go to the aquarium, which had been one of the things that intrigued her the most since she had heard about it. The aquarium trip took the whole day and they arrived home just in time for dinner. After they ate, Grace, Oliver, and Annie, went for a walk around the mansion's gardens until Annie began to run out of energy, at which Oliver took her inside and tucked her in. On Saturday, the girl woke her parents up much earlier than any of the other two days and insisted that today they needed to stay home and enjoy the "marvellous mansion" for all that it was. Grace and Oliver were more than happy to oblige this request and after having a nice breakfast out in the gardens, they spent four or so hours in the swimming pool. Annie had picked up on her swimming lessons very quickly and she now took to the water just like a fish. Oliver and Grace had a good time just watching how excited she got to show them the moves she had learned in the past two weeks.

Grace became a little melancholy herself thinking about how much energy Annie brought into the mansion. These past two months had been the best in her life and although the thought was selfish, she didn't want her little girl gone. She didn't want to share Annie with anyone, least of all school. Annie belonged with her and Oliver, forever.

Directly after dinner Sunday, the three of them piled into the DuPont so they could drive to the Hudson Street Orphanage to see July off. When they arrived, Annie excitedly hopped out of the car, ran up the front steps, and went directly into her old dormitory.

"Annie!" July exclaimed when she saw her friend, dropping her suitcase and running to hug her. "Your dad is _so_ awesome! He found me parents! I'm going home tonight, to a real home, with a _real mom and dad_!"

Annie grinned at her friend's genuine excitement, knowing that she had always been one of the most dramatic out of the group. "I'm really happy for you, July. I'm so happy you found a mom and dad and my mom told me our dads work together, so maybe we'll see each other a lot!"

July smiled back at this. "That would be great!" Her smile faded after a few moments of silence and Annie's eyebrow furrowed, concerned.

"What's wrong, July?" She asked softly. "Aren't you excited to go home?"

"Yeah, of course I am. It's just...Molly's been really sad ever since she heard I was getting adopted. She hasn't really stopped crying ever since then. I feel bad for her," the little girl whispered to her friend and Annie's eyes became downcast at hearing this, knowing that Molly was probably very hurt.

"Where is she?" She replied.

July pointed to the bathroom. "She's cleaning the bathroom right now, even though Miss Elliot told her she didn't have to. I think she's mad at me. She hasn't spoken to me all day long,"

Annie patted July's shoulder. "I'll talk to her," she reassured and walked into the bathroom to find Molly furiously scrubbing at the floor. Annie's heart broke a little bit when she saw tears lingering in Molly's eyes. She knelt down beside her friend.

"Hey, Molly," she whispered and Molly looked up, surprised for a moment, before she threw her arms around Annie, letting out the tears she had been holding back.

"Annie, you're here. You're really here," she said softly.

"Yeah, Molly, I'm here. How are you?" She asked, pulling back from the embrace and looking at her in the eyes, searching for any signs of sadness.

"July's gettin' adopted, Annie, and I'm gonna be here all alone. I'm the only one left in the room now, and it gets dark and scary at night. I don't want to be alone."

Annie caressed the little girl's hair. "I'm sorry, Molly. I'm really sorry. I wish I could have you come home with me. Maybe you could come over for a sleepover this weekend. I'm sure you're going to find parents soon,"

Molly shook her head. "No, I'm not. Everyone else has, but I won't," she looked down, "Nobody loves me, Annie."

Annie's heart broke a little more and she tilted the younger girl's chin up towards her. "That's not true at all, Molly. I love you very much and so do all the other girls. I'm positive that there's someone out there who will love you enough to adopt you. There has to be someone who wants a little girl just like you."

Molly brightened a little bit. "You really think so, Annie? You really think there's someone out there?" She asked and Annie smiled.

"I really think so. It just might take some time. Just think of me, I was here for ten years before I found my parents. It's going to happen,"

Molly hugged her friend tighter. "I love you, Annie." She whispered and Annie stroked her hair a bit, holding her close to her.

"I love you, too, Molly. You'll find your parents soon," she pulled away from the embrace and stood up, extending her hand. "Come on, let's go and say goodbye to July,"

Molly took her hand and the two girls went to the entrance of the orphanage, where July stood with her new parents. She was grinning from ear to ear, in pure happiness. Annie came over to hug her friend.

"I'm glad you found your family, July." She said, "I'm going to miss you. Visit me a lot."

July nodded eagerly. "I will! Thanks for helping me find my parents, Annie. You're the best." She squeezed the redhead and let go of the embrace before going over towards her younger friend, who was trying her best to be happy for July.

"Bye, Molly. I'm gonna miss you," July said, embracing the little girl. Molly wrapped her arms around July's neck.

"Have fun with your mommy and daddy, July. I'll miss you." She said softly and July smiled.

"I'll visit, Molly. I promise you,"

"Should we get going?" July's father asked now, watching the two girls with a small smile. July looked up and nodded, pulling away from Molly's embrace. She walked back over towards her parents, who each took her by the hand. July smiled at her friends as she walked towards the door and left, away from the orphanage for what she hoped was forever. It was a new beginning for her, walking out one very much hated door to open a new one full of opportunities.

Once July was gone, Annie looked up to her parents who were waving them off still. She left Molly's side for a second so she could go to them.

"Is it okay if I stay here until Molly falls asleep tonight? It's going to be her first night alone. I want to make it easier for her," she asked Oliver and Grace wuietly.

Grace smiled at her thoughtfulness and ruffled her hair. "Is she going to get to sleep soon? You have school tomorrow, young lady. Don't forget,"

Annie nodded. "I haven't, mom. I can go tuck her in right now. She normally went to sleep around now, anyways."

"Alright, Annie. If it means that much to you," Oliver said now and Annie smiled, hugging her father tightly.

"Thank you, Daddy Warbucks!"

Annie smiled and came back towards her younger friend, smiling. "Let's get you to bed, Molly. I'll stay here until you fall asleep, alright?"

Molly brightened a little at this, knowing it would be easier for her to drift off if Annie was with her. "Thanks, Annie." She replied and intertwined her hand into Annie's. The two girls headed towards the dormitory and Molly immediately climbed into her bed. Annie came over and sat on the edge of the bed, smiling brightly at her friend.

"I'm gonna be all alone tomorrow, Annie. You're not gonna be here and neither is July or Kate or Duffy or anyone." Molly said softly as she curled up in the bed. Annie reached out to stroke Molly's hand softly.

"I know, Molly, but you're going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine, I promise you. Just try and go to sleep now."

"What if I have a bad dream, Annie?" Molly asked now, suddenly becoming a bit more alert as this worry came to her mind.

Annie smiled. "Do what I always did. If you get scared, just go up to the window ledge and watch the city. It's really pretty when it's calm at night."

"Will you come back and visit me, Annie?"

"Of course I will, Molly. I love you so much,"

Molly smiled softly and she turned over onto her side so that she was facing Annie. The redhead continued stroking Molly's hand as her eyes slowly became heavier and heavier. Soon, they closed altogether and Annie gently got up, not wanting to disrupt the slumber. She leaned down and kissed Molly's forehead.

"Sleep well, Molly. I love you. I'll try to be back as soon as possible. We'll get you out of here." She whispered and she left the dormitory to go back to her parents. Grace smiled st her when she saw her come out.

"Is she asleep?" She asked quietly. Annie nodded.

"I feel so bad leaving her," she replied and Grace out her arm around her.

"We'll make sure to find her a family soon, darling. Let's get _you_ home and into bed now. You have quite the day ahead of you,"

Annie gave one last glance towards the dark dormitory now and sighed. "I guess so,. She replied and as they left, Annie sent her friend a silent message.

_Hang in there, Molly. _


	3. Chapter 3

"Mom, Daddy?" Annie called from her bed as her parents were almost out the bedroom door. They turned and gave her their full attention. "Yes?"

"Thanks for letting me go see July. It meant a lot to me. And to July… and to Molly."

"You're welcome, dear." Grace smiled. "Now rest up, you have a big day tomorrow."

Annie nodded and closed her eyes as Oliver and Grace left the room and quietly shut the door behind them. As they walked to their bedroom, Oliver asked for probably the 25th time that day. "Are you sure we made the right decision?"

Taking his hand, Grace soothed, "Oliver, you've got to stop tormenting yourself. She'll love school. We'll get used to the change. You're still thinking that we're **never** going to see her. And remember, work?"

"I know… I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it all."

"I know it's hard."

Their conversation continued as they arrived to their room. "How are you remaining so calm?" Oliver interrogated as he began changing into his pajamas.

Doing the same, Grace answered, "Because I know it's for the better. No, I'm not thrilled to see her leave for hours every day, but the last thing we can do to that girl is keep her locked up."

At this, Oliver sighed knowingly. "I suppose I wasn't thinking of it that way. You are absolutely right."

…

The next morning, after a restless night sleep for all of them (nerves for Oliver and Grace, excitement for Annie), they all gathered for breakfast. Annie ate her eggs and toast at the speed of light while Oliver and Grace could barely find room for their cups of coffee. Why were they so nervous?

It was time for her to leave all too quickly. As Oliver hugged his daughter goodbye, he whispered to her, "Do you want your mother and I to come in the car with you?"

Annie giggled as she let go of her father, "Daddy, I'm the one who's supposed to be nervous, remember? I'll be fine." She turned to climb into the DuPont. The Asp shut the door behind her and Annie waved to her parents through the window and called, "I'll see you later, I love you both!"

"We love you too." Oliver and Grace replied in unison as they waved and watched their daughter head down the driveway. Once the car was off the property and out of sight, Oliver turned to his wife and began, "You know what? I'm proud of her. She's handling this very-" he stopped short when he noticed Grace crying. "What's the matter? Are you upset that she's gone?"

Another sob escaped her as she looked up at him and stared. After a moment, her hand met his arm in a shove as she cried, "How could you send her to school?!" On that note, she marched back into the house leaving her husband very confused in her wake. "What just happened?" he asked himself aloud once Grace was well inside.

About an hour later, Grace finally unlocked herself from the bedroom. Oliver had given up his attempts to get her to open the door quite some time before. She hadn't expected this reaction, but seeing that car carrying her daughter down the driveway was hard. Annie had never gone anywhere without either her or Oliver since she'd arrived. Before it was easy to see the positive, but when it was actually happening, she fully understood why Oliver had been so upset and reluctant.

"Oliver?"

At the sound of Grace's meek voice, Oliver looked up from his ticker tape and asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Walking further into the office, she nodded, "Yes…" looking at him shyly. She felt bad for locking him out. Her emotions had definitely taken over there for a while. Relief came over her though when Oliver held his arms open for her. She rushed to him and he took her and rested her on his lap. "I miss her." she whispered.

"So do I, my love."

"Do you think we will get used to this new schedule?" she asked as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sure… after a while. What choice do we have?"

With a slight grin she said, "We could always fake an emergency and call her home."

To this, Oliver laughed, "I don't think the school or Annie would appreciate that very much."

"No, I suppose they wouldn't. She really was excited, wasn't she?" Oliver plainly nodded in response as she continued, "Then I suppose I'm happy about this."

"As am I."

Grace lifted her head. They smiled at each other for a moment before a bit of guilt crossed her face. "I'm sorry I punched you earlier."

"Well, I wouldn't have called it a punch exactly. It was more of a powerful push." he chuckled.

"Well I'm sorry for whatever it was." she said before lightly kissing his lips.

As she started to pull away, Oliver wound his arms tightly around her and deepened her kiss. When they broke for air, Oliver said with a glint in his eye, "You know, we did overlook another positive about Annie being at school all day…"

Grace gave her husband a knowing look, raised her eyebrows, and playfully said, "Care to enlighten me?"

With this, Oliver kissed his wife once again. They could buckle down on work tomorrow.

As time went on, Oliver and Grace did get used to Annie's school schedule. They were also able to get Warbucks Inc. (somewhat) back on its feet again. That was no easy task, but it was all about hard work and perseverance.

Annie too adjusted. It wasn't any surprise to her parents that she had quickly made friends. She was also doing wonderfully academically; especially given the fact she'd never really had any proper education. Oliver and Grace couldn't have been prouder.

October rolled around which meant it was time to start thinking about Annie's birthday. Grace and Oliver were determined to go all out and grant the child's every wish. This was her first birthday celebration after all. It was going to be grand! They imagined Annie having all of her school friends over for an afternoon of games, cake, ice cream, you name it. But when they asked her what she wanted to do, she had a very simple request. "Can Molly come over for dinner and cake?"

"Of course…" Oliver started. "But don't you want some of your other friends to come over as well? What about a party?"

Annie shrugged, "I guess that would be fun too. Would Molly still be able to come though?"

Grace chimed in, "Absolutely."

"Good." she smiled.

Looking at her daughter sympathetically, Grace observed, "You really miss her don't you?"

Annie nodded, "I really do."

"Well then," Oliver began. "Why don't we invite her to your party along with the other girls, and then I'll ask Miss Elliot if Molly would be allowed to spend the night. Does that sound like a plan?"

Annie's eyes grew wide with joy as she leaped into Oliver's arms, "Yes, yes, yes! This is gonna be the best birthday ever!" She was quite a moment, and then added, "And if Duffy and Pepper can come for the party too that would be swell."

"Of course." Grace smiled.

…

Thankfully, Oliver and Grace were able to grant Annie's 'best birthday ever' wish. They were worried that Miss Elliot wouldn't allow for Molly to say the night. She didn't agree right away. She said it wouldn't be fair to the other girls. But Oliver eventually won her over. She may have been a much better person than Miss Hannigan, but money still talked. Besides, it wasn't as if Annie's closest friends were being excluded. If she had any more close friends there, he and Grace certainly didn't know about them. She only ever talked about Molly.

The party went wonderfully… but Oliver couldn't help but notice that Annie spent most of her time with Molly, Duffy, and Pepper while her school friends stayed in their own groups. Unsure of how (or if) he should respond, he went over to Grace, who was chatting with the other girls' mothers. "Darling, can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure." She muttered before turning to her guests and saying, "Please excuse me for a moment."

Oliver led her to the outdoor stairs, out of earshot from both the parents and the children. "What's the matter?" Grace questioned.

"I'm a bit worried about Annie."

Grace looked to where the children were playing. Annie was smiling and running around. It looked as if she were in the middle of a game of tag. "How come? It looks like she's enjoying herself."

"Oh, she is. What I mean is: I'm worried that she isn't socializing with the girls from her class. More often than not I see her with her friends from the orphanage."

Grace shrugged, "And that's cause for concern?"

Growing a bit frustrated, Oliver sighed, "Perhaps concern is a strong word, but shouldn't she be playing with everyone?"

"It looks like they're all playing together now."

_Just my luck. _Oliver thought.

Grace continued, "Oh Oliver, I wouldn't be too worried. She gets to see her school friends every day. She only sees Duffy on the weekends, and Pepper and Molly hardly ever. She's excited, that's all."

Shaking his head, he surrendered, "Whatever you say."

Noticing her husband was giving in for her sake, she assured, "If you notice it again let me know and I'll go talk to her. I'll tell her that she'll have plenty of time to see Molly later. Why don't you call Duffy and Pepper's parents and see if they'd allow the girls to stay over as well. That way she's sure to have special time with them."

"That's a marvelous idea!" he cheered.

Grace couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad. I don't think Annie will have any objections. I'll only tell her if she's clinging to them again."

While Oliver went inside to make the phone calls, Grace rejoined the other mothers, but she now also kept an eye on Annie. After a while, she saw what Oliver had seen. She excused herself again and went over to the children to pull Annie aside.

"What's up, Mom?" Annie questioned.

"Annie, sweetheart… You're father and I have noticed that you've been spending an awful lot of time with Pepper, Duffy, and Molly."

"So?"

"So… don't you think you should spend some time with your other guests as well?"

"I have. They all know each other anyways. They don't know the other girls. I don't want them to be left out."

Grace hadn't fully thought of the situation in that way. She brought up a good point. There were far more of her school friends than the other three. After some thinking, she suggested, "Then maybe this is a good time for cake and presents. What do you say?"

"Oh boy!" Annie cheered.

Grace laughed, "I'll take that as a yes then?"

Annie enthusiastically nodded as Grace began leading them to the table. As she opened her mouth to announce that it was time to gather, Oliver came up beside her and whispered, "The parents said a sleepover would be fine."

Grace smiled and then leaned down to Annie's ear, "Would you mind is Duffy and Pepper spent the night as well?"

Annie turned around to her mother with one of the widest grins she'd ever grinned. "Would I mind?!"

The three of them laughed and then proceeded to call everyone to the cake.

The rest of the party went wonderfully and smoothly. Knowing that her best friends would be staying over, Annie was able to give all of her guests equal attention. Well almost. Naturally, she kept an extra eye out for Molly seeing as she was much younger than everyone else. Being the youngest was nothing new to her though. She'd always been among the youngest kids at the orphanage.

The party guests left around 7, which meant that the girls would have only a couple hours to play before bed. But Oliver and Grace knew that they would try to turn that 'couple' into a 'few'. Eventually they would wear themselves out. Lucky for them it was a Friday night, so there was no worry about having to be up early. (Annie's birthday had fallen on a Wednesday, but she had no problem waiting for the weekend to celebrate with her friends.)

It was nearly 10 when Grace came in and told them (again) that they had to get into bed. They were all so excited sharing the stories about their new families and their new lives that they'd completely lost track of time. Grace noticed that Molly looked a bit down from the conversation. _Poor thing._

…

"Did you have a nice birthday?" Grace asked as she tucked Annie under the covers.

"It was the best ever! Thank you so much. And thank Daddy Warbucks for me as well."

"You are most welcome. And indeed I will." she smiled before kissing her daughter's forehead.

All the girls shared Annie's bed—it was certainly large enough for them all. Grace smiled at the way Molly snuggled up right next to Annie. _How has that child yet to find a home?_

…

"Annie! Annie!"

Annie shot up at the familiar cry. It was Molly. The little girl was shaking beside her with tears rushing down her face. Quickly, Annie wrapped her arms around Molly and pulled her into a tight hug. "Shhh…" she lulled. "It's alright Molly, I'm here."

"But you haven't been! And you won't be again after tonight." Molly cried harder, now waking up Pepper, and then Duffy.

"You have got to be kidding me." Pepper groaned. Then shoving her head underneath her pillow she mumbled, "I haven't missed this a bit."

"Shut up, Pepper." Duffy wearily scolded. "Give her a break."

"Yeah!" Annie piped, still holding Molly. She then slid off the bed, taking Molly's hand. "Come on: let's go get you some water."

Molly nodded and followed Annie's lead. They walked to the bathroom down the hall where Annie always kept a glass. She filled it with water as she asked, "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yes."

"What was it about?"

"Miss Hannigan came back. Only I was the only kid in the entire orphanage. She wouldn't let you visit me or anyone else. I was trapped with her alone and forever!" Once again the little girl began to cry. Annie handed her the glass and then brushed the hair out of her friend's eyes. "It was just a dream. Don't worry. That will never happen."

"But I'm already alone Annie. Miss Elliot is nice, but I'm still alone. None of the other girls take care of me like you did. I miss you so much." Setting down the glass, Molly flung her arms around Annie.

"I miss you too, Molly. I promise you, you're gonna find your family soon."

"But when, Annie? It's been months and I still don't have a home. Everyone else has mommies and daddies but me. You're all so happy and I'm so alone."

Annie's heart was completely breaking. She knew that Oliver had tried finding parents for Molly. Why hadn't he found them? He wouldn't have given up, would he? No, of course not. He was Oliver Warbucks. He didn't get to be the richest man in the world by quitting. Maybe he just forgot. He's very busy, you know. Well she'd just have to remind him. There was no way she was going to watch Molly go through such sadness any longer. She deserved a happy ending just like everyone else.

"Keep your chin up kiddo. You're gonna find a family, I promise. I'm gonna take care of this." _Somehow…_


	4. Chapter 4

Just as Grace and Oliver had expected, the next morning the girls all woke rather late (at least for them). The four of them came bounding down into the dining room around nine thirty as Grace and Oliver were reading the newspaper and sipping coffee and tea. They had just finished their breakfast only moments earlier.

"Good morning, girls," Grace said warmly as they all came in and took their respective seats. The girls smiled at her and greeted her good morning before they went to work on piling up their plates with the strawberry pancakes laid out on the table.

"Did you all sleep well?" She asked once they had begun to eat.

"Yeah, we did, mom. Well, Molly had a bad dream, but other than that, we slept just grand," Annie replied through a mouthful of pancake.

Grace chuckled and shook her head. "Annie, you know you're not supposed to talk with food in your mouth," she chided before turning towards Molly, who was on her other side. "You had a bad dream, darling? Do you want to talk about it?"

Molly looked up from her food to briefly shake her head. Grace chuckled again and patted the girl on her head, knowing that Annie most likely had taken care of it. Her daughter was very maternal to all her friends, a quality that Grace loved about her.

"Well, Mr. Warbucks and I are glad that you could all come and celebrate Annie's birthday with her, I'm sure she appreciated it a lot," she replied, directing this towards Duffy, Pepper, and Molly. They all smiled and began to chatter excitedly with Annie about the events of the previous night as they ate. Grace and Oliver simply exchanged amused glances over their heads.

Once the girls had finished their food, they went outside to get in as much time for playing as they could before Pepper and Duffy's parents came to retrieve them and Oliver would have to drive Molly back to the orphanage. Annie was heartbroken at the thought of sending her friend back to the orphanage to be all alone again, especially after their little heart-to-heart last night, and she was trying her best to make sure she had fun so her spirits were lifted for the rest of the day. They played until around noon, when both Pepper and Duffy's parents arrived at nearly the same time.

"Thanks for coming, you guys. I had a lot of fun!" Annie said as she hugged Pepper, who had a look of disgust on her face at the warm gesture.

"Yeah, well, happy birthday. Thanks for the cake and the party," she replied, still as grumpy as ever. She said goodbye to Duffy, and then Molly before going off with her parents.

"Yeah, thanks for having us over, Annie! I had a lot of fun!" Duffy replied, hugging the redhead now. "I'll see you soon?" She asked and Annie nodded.

"Definitely! Maybe you could come over next weekend. I'll have to ask Mom and Daddy,"

Duffy smiled. "Okay! Bye, Annie. Have a good week at school," she hugged her friend again briefly before going over to Molly, who was very clearly trying not to cry.

"Bye, Molly. It was good seeing you," she said, bending down to hug the little girl. Molly nodded, silent as she wrapped her arms around Duffy.

"Bye, Duffy. I'll miss you," she said quietly and Duffy kissed her forehead.

"You're gonna find a home soon, Molly. I'm sure Annie and Mr. Warbucks will find you one," she said reassuringly, smiling as she went towards her parents. Annie and Molly waves goodbye to them before heading inside the mansion. They went to the kitchen for lunch, since Molly wouldn't be going home for another hour or so.

"Annie, I don't want to go back," Molly said softly, tears brimming in her eyes as they were about halfway through their lunches. Annie smiled sadly and took her by the hand.

"I know, Molly. I wish you don't have to, but I'm going to ask Daddy Warbucks later on today if he has any idea of who's going to adopt you. You've gotta trust me, kiddo. I'll take care of this,"

"Promise?" Molly held out her tiny pinkie and Annie took it.

"Promise. We'll find you a home."

And finding Molly a home was Annie's goal throughout the next few weeks, all the way until it was already the middle of November. She pestered her parents _constantly_ about if they had talked to any more couples who wanted to adopt, but the answer always a negative one. Oliver worked tirelessly, trying to find someone who would even consider taking Molly in, but his options were running thin. Annie had at least convinced the two of them to let her visit Molly twice a week, which made both the little girls feel a little better.

"Oliver, I just don't understand how she can't have found a family yet," Grace said one afternoon as they were waiting for Annie to get home. "She's just the sweetest little girl. Why won't anyone adopt her?"

Oliver sighed. "I'm not sure, dear. I've been trying to find someone, but everyone I've talked to either had children of their own already or they're not open to the idea. It means so much to Annie, though. I don't want her to think I've abandoned the idea,"

Just as Grace was about to reply, Drake came into the room, holding the telephone in his hands. "Phone call for you, Mrs. Warbucks,"

Grace was confused by this. Phone calls rarely, if ever, came for her. It was always ringing for Oliver, but she was simply his secretary and wife. Who would want to talk to her? Still, intrigued by the call, she picked it up and hoped that it had nothing to do with Annie. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Warbucks? This is Miss Elliot from the Hudson Street Home for Girls. I was just calling to notify you that your daughter's close friend, Molly, has been missing since early this morning. We're assuming she's run away, but we thought it would be best to let you know. When and if we get any more news on where she could be, we will let you know,"

Grace's stomach dropped at this news. "How long has she been gone?" She replied, her voice a bit shaky. Though Molly wasn't her or Oliver's responsibility, she still couldn't help but feel bad for the poor little girl. She had virtually no one in the world, except for her friends from the orphanage, who had all left her.

"We're not positive, but she went missing sometime between eleven last night and six thirty this morning. We've notified the police and the Board of Orphans and they're all out looking for her. We're hoping she will be back soon,"

"Well, thank you for letting us know, Miss Elliot. We'll be waiting to hear what you find out," Grace said and hung up the phone. Oliver looked up from his papers once she did and looked at her, confusion clearly on his face.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"Molly's gone missing from the orphanage. They think she's run away." Grace sighed and sat down. "How are we going to tell Annie? You know how much she cares about all the little girls, but especially Molly. She's going to be so worried,"

Oliver looked to be deep in thought. "Something tells me that Annie most likely already knows about Molly's disappearance." He finally said after a couple moments.

"What do you mean, Oliver?" Grace replied, confused.

"Think about it, darling. Molly went missing last night, which just so happened to be one of the nights that Annie went to go and visit her. Do you think that's just a coincidence? Annie is very protective of Molly and she's also very smart. She's probably found out a million of secret hiding spots since coming here and I'm sure that she's more than well educated in escaping from the orphanage. Something tells me that she and Molly have had this planned out for weeks."

"You actually bring up some good points," Grace murmured thoughtfully, "but would Annie risk getting Molly in trouble like this? And how would she have gotten Molly here without us knowing?"

Oliver shrugged. "Our daughter is a lot like me, my dear. Smart and ruthless. If she wants something, she'll make it happen."

Grace sighed. "Well, let's just hope she hasn't gone that far yet. I know she's worried about Molly, but I don't know how we'll explain to the Board of Orphans that we have a runaway in our mansion."

After Annie had finished her after school snack and homework for the afternoon, Oliver and Grace decided to bring her into the office and more or less interrogate her about if she knew about Molly's sudden and unexpected disappearance.

"What's this all about?" Annie asked as she stared at her parents sitting directly across from her. "Is everything okay?"

Grace sighed and knelt down in front of the eleven year old. "Now, Annie, I want you to know that if you had something to do with this that Daddy and I aren't mad at you at all. We just need to know if you know anything," she began and Annie's eyebrow furrowed at this, looking even more confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, sweetheart, Miss Elliot from the orphanage called us earlier and she told us that Molly's gone missing. Your father and I have noticed that you're very worried about her and we just are wondering if you know anything about this. Like I just said, we won't be mad if you do, but we need to know because Molly belongs to the state and she's their responsibility."

Annie glanced between her parents and shook her head. "No, I don't know anything." She said quietly, looking down. "Is she gonna be okay? Do they into what happened to her?"

Grace reached out to take her daughter by the hand. "They think she's run away, darling. Miss Elliot told me she's notified the police and the Board of Orphans. They're all looking for Molly,"

"What if they don't find her? Why would she run away?" Annie looked up to her parents, a look of fear on her face. "Whenever I would run away at the orphanage, she always would be so worried. I never thought she'd do the same." She sighed and brought her knees up to her chest hugging them tightly. "I hope she's okay,"

Grace smiled and kissed her forehead. "I hope so, too, darling. Perhaps we'll go looking for her, too. We will let you know as soon as we know anything more,"

Annie smiled sadly and wrapped her arms around her mother. "You promise?"

"I promise. The very second we know,"

The next two days passed by in a tense and stressful manner for Grace, Oliver, and Annie. The redhead absolutely refused to do anything but stay home with her parents, waiting on her heels for any news of Molly's whereabouts. She barely ate and her sleep schedule had been royally messed up, only getting a few hours here and there as she stayed up until she couldn't keep her eyes open longer, endlessly worrying. Grace hadn't seen anyone so distraught before and she was afraid that Annie would stress herself out too much for her own good. She had missed two days of school now, insisting that it would be impossible for her to focus until Molly was found, safe. Grace and Oliver didn't know how to argue with that, knowing that anything they said would just go in one ear and out the other. Annie was a persistent child when she really wanted to be and that was very apparent now.

Not much news had been given to them, either. The Board of Orphans had hung posters on street corners and in subway stations, giving the details of Molly's appearance and her supposed escape, but nobody stepped forward to say they knew anything. As much as he hated to admit it, Oliver was beginning to lose hope about Molly's safety and wellbeing. It was the middle of November, the nights were growing darker earlier and the streets of New York City were no place for a girl as small as Molly in normal circumstances. He knew how the world worked and he knew that it was cause for worry when a little girl like Molly was missing for two days, without a trace. He never voiced these fears to Grace, though, partly because Annie was nearly attached to her hip and partly because he knew she was just as worried as the redhead. With all that being said, however, it was hard for him to be optimistic and reassure his two ladies because he was just as lost as they all were.

"I got her to play outside," Grace said softly, walking into the office around five on Wednesday evening. Oliver smiled up at her and beckoned her over. Grace gladly came over and he pulled her into a tight embrace on his lap, beginning to massage her neck.

"Perhaps the distraction will be good for her," he replied and she nodded.

"I really hope so. She needs something to get her mind off of Molly, she's been so worried about her. I hope that they find her soon."

Oliver sighed and ran his fingers through her hair. "What happens if they don't, Grace? What happens if she's found, but she's not alive?"

Grace looked absolutely horrified at this possibility. "I'd rather not dwell on that right now, Oliver. We have to be optimistic, for Annie and besides, this little girl is too young for something as drastic as that to happen. We have to be optimistic,"

"I really hope she's found soon and I hope she's alright. She's always been so sweet whenever she comes to visit. I'd be devastated if anything happened to her,"

Grace nodded in agreement. "I guess all we have left to do is wait," she replied softly and he wrapped his arms around her tighter, kissing her neck. Grace let herself be soaked into him and the kiss went way deeper than what would have been appropriate for any young eyes, but they made sure to lock the door. Stress can do some wonderful things for couples.

Outside, Annie wandered aimlessly around the mansion gardens as she tried hard to get her mind off of Molly being gone. All her efforts were to no avail, though. Even if her mind strayed from Molly for a second, she immediately snapped back. This little girl who was like her baby sister was missing and she had no clue if she was dead or not. It took everything I'm her not to go out into New York and search for her, day and night. Daddy Warbucks and Mom tried to reassure her that everything would be okay, but she knew that they were just saying that. Nobody knew anything for certain. That was a life lesson that Annie had learned when she was very young and it was especially apparent now. She had done everything she could to protect Molly in the past two years and now the one time it really mattered, she wasn't there for her. She felt absolutely awful.

"Annie! Annie!" A voice suddenly spoke out in a sharp whisper. Annie snapped her head up from where she was sitting on the bench and she blinked a couple times to make out a figure standing in the dark. The figure came forward and to her genuine surprise and great relief, it was Molly.

"Molly?" Annie asked in disbelief, standing up. The figure nodded and ran towards the redhead, wrapping her arms around Annie's waist. Annie hugged the little girl tight, feeling the goosebumps running all along her arms.

"Molly, what are you doing here? How did you get here?" Annie asked after they had embraced for a few minutes, kneeling down in front of her friend.

"I...I ran away, Annie. I didn't wanna live at the orphanage anymore. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I wanted to be with you," Molly replied, quietly as she began to cry.

"Oh, Molly," Annie replied, beginning to caress Molly's hair. "You've had everyone so worried. Everyone is looking for you. Where have you been staying?"

"Nowhere, I've just been trying to find the mansion, Annie. I've missed you so much, Annie," Molly said softly and Annie brought her in tighter.

"I,be missed you too, but, why did you run away like that, Molly? It's so dangerous to be out there." Annie scolded gently and Molly shook her head.

"You did it all the time, Annie and you were fine. Why can't I do the same?" The younger girl protested and Annie's heart just about broke at this. She had been the one to give the little girl this dangerous idea. She had been the one to almost put Molly's life at stake. The incredible guilt she felt could never be measured. She almost killed Molly.

"Oh, Molly, just because I did it doesn't necessarily mean you should, too. Come on, let's go inside and tell Mom and Daddy Warbucks you're here," the redhead held her hand out for Molly to fake, but the little girl stubbornly shook her head.

"_No_!" She protested, "If we go inside, they're gonna send me back and I'm gonna be all alone again! What if they don't let me see you ever again?"

Annie sighed, knowing this was all too true. "You can't stay out here in the cold, Molly. You'll freeze to death,"

Molly crossed her arms. "I'm not going back," she insisted and Annie smiled, seeing a bit of herself in the girl. She thought for a moment.

"Come inside with me," she said again and Molly looked confused.

"You're not gonna tell, are you?" She asked hesitantly.

"I promise I won't, but you're shivering. We've got to get you inside," she took Molly by the hand and led her towards the mansion's entrance. She stepped inside first to make sure no servants were around and then led her friend up the marble staircase. She took her straight to her bedroom and let her into the walk-in closet.

In the light of the closet, Annie could see Molly looked to be in absolute horrible condition. She was hugging herself because she was so freezing and she had patches of dirt all on her face.

"I won't let you go back there, Molly. I promise. You're just going to have to stay in here for a little while until o figure out where to hide you,"

Molly smiled. "Thanks, Annie. I love you, Annie,"

"I love you, too, Molly," Annie replied and a couple minutes later, she heard her name being called from downstairs. She leaned forward to kiss Molly's forehead. "I have to go for dinner, Molly, but I promise I'll be back as soon as possible. There's a few blankets and pillows over there," she pointed to the corner of the closet, "Try and get some rest, okay? We'll figure this out. I promise you,"


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Here is chapter 5! I really hope you are all enjoying this story just as much as Markaleen and I are enjoying writing it. There's only a bit left to it, sadly, but we are already discussing a sequel, so don't worry. I'm also very sorry if you've been waiting for the next instalment of Something Was Missing, I Never Quite Knew. I've been very caught up with this story and other things in my life, but I will get it out sometime this week or weekend. It will come out!

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

A week had gone by and Annie had successfully hidden Molly in her closet without notice. She was actually pretty proud of her efforts. Every meal she would slide a bit of food into her pockets and sneak it upstairs the first moment she could. Molly was so grateful for a friend like Annie. She was the only person in the world who would do such a kind thing for her—especially since she knew she'd be in big trouble if she were caught.

On Friday afternoon, immediately after coming home from school, Annie ran upstairs to her bedroom in search of Molly. "Pssst, Molly…"

The little brunette peeked her head out from the closet door and answered, "Yeah?"

Annie tossed her schoolbag onto her bed and then scurried into the closet. "We might have a problem," she started instantly.

"Oh no!" Molly panicked. "They found me, didn't they? I'm gonna have to go back to the orphanage. I'm gonna be in so much trouble!"

Before Molly worked herself up too much, Annie corrected, "No, no. It's not that, don't worry. The thing is… My friend Frances is having a slumber party tonight and I'm invited. I don't wanna leave you here by yourself. Besides, if I went I wouldn't be able to give you dinner."

Molly's stomach grumbled at the thought. "So don't go."

Annie shook her head. "You don't understand. If I say no, Mom and Daddy will be suspicious. Or they'll think that I'm upset about you bein' missing. I don't know what to do…"

"You can't leave Annie! It's lonely enough while you're at school. It's so hard to just sit in here all day not making a sound. I know it's better than being at the orphanage, but it's still not very fun."

Wrapping her arm around her little friend, Annie sympathized, "I know it's not. I promise, soon I'll figure out a room where nobody will find you. There's gotta be at least one in this whole house that isn't visited every day—or at all."

"But I'll still be lonely unless you're around."

"Something will work out, I know it."

Molly sighed, "Soon I hope."

Annie decided to try and get out of going to the sleepover, but as she figured, she ran into some problems.

"Mom, please? I just don't feel like it tonight."

"Honey, you haven't felt like doing anything since Molly's run away."

"I'm worried about her, that's all."

"We all are."

"Good, so you understand." Annie had hoped to end the conversation and started walking away from her mother, but Grace pulled her back. "I do, but I also understand that life has to go on. You'll feel terrible on Monday when all your friends are talking about what a great time they had without you."

Annie shrugged, "Yeah, but it'll be worth it. I'd feel even worse knowing that I missed news on Molly."

"I promise you that if there's news about her we will call you and pick you up instantly."

"That's not the same."

Grace sighed as she kneeled down to her daughter's height. "Annie… there hasn't been any news about her since we got the initial call… we have to face the fact that she might not be found. It pains me to say this, but its reality."

Knowing she had to appear upset, Annie forced a tear. "No, she'll be fine. I know it."

"I love your optimism, Annie…" Grace said with a sad smile.

"Can I please stay home?"

Grace didn't know what to do. She didn't want to force Annie into a situation she didn't want to be in, but she also knew that her daughter was in a funk—a justified funk, but nevertheless, a funk. "I have an idea," she finally said. "Why don't we compromise? You go over to Frances' house tonight, but your father or I will pick you up before bedtime. Does that sound like a plan?"

"Uhh…" Annie hesitated. "Maybe… but, uh, could you take me after dinner?"

"How come?"

"I, uh… I really like Mrs. Pugh's cooking. She knows what I like to eat and how I like it prepared."

Well it certainly hasn't taken her long to adjust to this new lifestyle. Grace thought as she stood up. "Alright, alright… Anything to get you out of the house for a while."

At her mother's last comment, Annie looked up at her with confusion. "You don't want me around?"

Realizing what she had said, the woman quickly corrected, "Oh no, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I meant for your own good. It isn't healthy to stay cooped up in your room all the time."

With a shrug, Annie rebutted, "It's winter. I've never spent a warm winter indoors before. I'm really enjoying it." Knowing that her mother wouldn't reply to an orphanage reference, Annie simply concluded with a smile and skipped off.

Once she was well away from Grace, Annie ran back to her room to update Molly.

"I gotta go for a little while tonight. I really tried to get out of it, but Mom wasn't gonna let me."

"Who's gonna bring me dinner?" Molly whined.

"Don't worry, I'll be able to bring you some before I leave."

"Oh good…but what am I gonna do while you're gone?"

Annie took a minute to think before responding. "I'll leave you some more coloring books and some toys."

"Okay…" Molly sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… I'm just bored with those is all."

"I know… Look, tomorrow we'll continue your reading lessons. You're leanin' real fast. Soon you'll be able to go all kinds of places through stories. Sound good?"

Managing a smile, Molly nodded, "Yeah."

"Oliver, I'm really worried about Annie."

Looking up from his book, Oliver replied to his wife. "Is this still about Molly?"

Grace nodded. "Yes."

"She'll be fine."

"Annie, or Molly?" Grace questioned.

With a stutter, Oliver replied, "B-Both of them." With this, Grace shot him an unconvinced look. "Annie will… all we can do now is pray for Molly."

Grace, who had been standing the whole time, now sat next to her husband and took his hand. "Oh Oliver, I'm so terribly worried about that little girl. If she hasn't found shelter there's no way she's…" tears filled her before she could finish her thought.

Sympathetically, Oliver squeezed her hand. "I know… hopefully she's learned some street smarts from Annie. Remember, she thinks very highly of her."

"I know she does. I suppose that is a bit of comfort."

"Who knows?" he continued. "Perhaps someone found her and took her in."

"Please God, let that be the case." Grace whispered as she tilted her head upwards with her eyes shut tightly.

"In the meantime, we should focus on making sure Annie is alright."

Looking back to her husband, Grace remembered her initial reason for the discussion. "She's barely left her room all week. I basically had to force her to go to that slumber party tonight. And even then she went late and is coming home early. I don't know what to do. I realize she's very worried about Molly, but if something has or is going to happen to the child, she can't possibly stay locked in her room for rest of her life."

"We'll think of something… For starters, why don't we all spend the day together tomorrow? Perhaps some Christmas shopping?"

Grace smiled, "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I just hope Annie won't object as strongly as she did about this sleepover."

"I'm sure she will." Oliver chuckled as he kissed Grace's cheek.

Rolling her eyes, Grace replied, "Thank you for your confidence. Just for that I'm leaving the argument up to you."

Oliver laughed, "Okay, okay. I suppose I deserve that."

"You certainly do!" Grace teased as she kissed his hand before standing up.

As she started to leave, Oliver questioned, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go upstairs and tidy Annie's room. She hasn't let anyone in there to do so—another thing that's concerning me. Anyways, I may as well take advantage of her being gone."

"Why don't you just have one of the maids do it?" Oliver wondered as if that were the obvious choice.

Grace shrugged, "Oh, they work so hard during the day. No sense in making them work at this hour."

With a grin, Oliver observed, "You want to snoop around, don't you?"

Grace's jaw dropped dramatically, "Oliver Warbucks I am not a snoop! …However if I happen to come across a clue as to what's keeping our daughter in an emotional rut then so be it." Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and exited the library. Oliver just laughed knowing that there was no detouring his wife when she was on a mission.

…

Grace entered her daughter's bedroom, looking around as if she were expecting Annie to catch her at any moment. Realizing this, Grace rolled her eyes and said to herself, "Oh for heaven's sake Grace, she isn't home." She did feel bad for being in the room while Annie wasn't there—especially since she'd been cautious of people going in recently. She even seemed uncomfortable having her and Oliver in there to say goodnight. But 'mother-bear' mode was taking over. She suspected that there was something more going on with her 'cub' than she was letting on. What, she didn't know. But there was definitely something.

She looked around the room. The only thing suspicious was that it was cluttered. Annie usually kept a tidy room on her own without being prompted. Then again, what should she have expected? The child spent 80 percent of her time in there nowadays. There were lots of clothes, books, coloring books, crayons, toys, and pieces of paper spread about. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But at a closer glance, two things ended up looking suspicious. First, the papers: one she picked up read, "The fat cat sat on a mat." Flipping through the others she noticed that there were similar phrases written on all of them in big letters. Why would she need these? This couldn't possibly be homework…

The other suspicious thing was the amount of clothes lying around. Clearly they had been worn. She didn't remember Annie wearing half of these dresses. Has she been playing dress up? Since she didn't know for sure (maybe she just hadn't noticed), she went towards the closet to grab the hamper. The minute her hand touched the door knob, Sandy let out a loud bark. Grace jumped a nearly a foot in the air. She hadn't realized the dog was with her. She looked around the room and eventually saw him peek his nose out from underneath the bed. Grace laughed as she said to the animal, "What are you doing down there you silly mutt? You scared me half to death!"

While Grace was busy conversing with Sandy, Molly panicked. She'd heard Grace when she came in, but she didn't think she'd go in the closet. She thought fast. Her first instinct was to hide in one of the drawers, but there wasn't enough time. Then she eyed the hamper. Perfect! So she climbed in. It was kind of like when Annie hid in the laundry bin the last time she ran away.

Just as Grace opened the door, Molly was just shutting the lid to the hamper. Grace instantly noticed that the closet floor was covered with pillows and blankets. Has Annie been sleeping in here? Poor thing. For whatever reason, she seemed to do that whenever she was scared or upset. One of her first nights at the mansion was spent on this very floor. Grace had come in to check on her and there she was, sadly trying to sing herself to sleep. Is this what she's been doing all week? Oh the poor dear… Grace shook her head. Her cleaning time was limited. But she would definitely be discussing this with Annie later.

She went back to her mission of picking up the dirty clothes. First, she moved the pillows and folded the blankets that had taken up the middle of the floor and moved them back to their rightful corner, and then she went for the hamper. When she tried picking it up, she was quite surprised. "Oh my gosh, what on earth is in here?" she found herself wondering aloud. But before she could open the lid, she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist. For the second time that evening she jumped, this time letting out a gasp. After the initial shock, she didn't need to question who it was behind her, and the kisses that were being planted on her neck assured her it was Oliver.

"I didn't mean to startle you, darling," he mumbled in between pecks.

"I guess I'm jumpy tonight."

By the tone of her voice, Oliver knew that there was something wrong. "What's going on?" He loosened his grip and spun her around to face him.

"I'm not sure quite frankly." Grace answered. "I'm getting a very funny feeling though."

"Like what?"

"Come look at this…" Taking Oliver's hand, she led him over to Annie's desk where she had set the phrase papers. "Read these."

Oliver took the papers and shuffled through them. "They look like tongue twisters or something."

"Why would she be writing things like this? Isn't she a bit advanced for these sorts of exercises?"

Setting the papers back on the desk, he replied, "My dear, you must remember that Annie is still a bit behind her classmates. Even if she's keeping up with them with her overall grades, she might need to reassure herself with some practice. Also remember that she was deprived of a proper childhood. She doesn't know from age differences unless it's about the work they had to do. We mustn't put restrictions on her."

With a sigh, Grace had to agree. "You're right. I didn't think of it that way… I just wish Annie would talk to us. I fear that there's something more than Molly's disappearance that's bothering her. Do you think there's something going on at school that we don't know about? After all, she was very determined not to attend the slumber party."

"It's a possibility. We'll both go to pick her up in a little while and we'll talk to her then. That way she won't be able to make a getaway," he winked.

Grace chuckled, "Yes, that's good thinking." Then noticing a 'devious' look cross her husband's face, Grace shook her head. "Oliver, I really want to finish cleaning up before Annie gets home."

"Oh come on, how often do we get the house to ourselves in the evening?"

"Oliver darling, the house is never to ourselves. A majority of the staff lives here, remember?"

Rolling his eyes, Oliver replied, "You know what I mean."

"I know," she laughed. "But really dear, I want to keep tidying."

"I can't believe you're choosing housework over your husband!" he (half) joked.

"You will not make me feel guilty." Grace insisted as she went back to picking up clothes. "Besides, I'm exhausted. The minute I get into bed I-" She stopped short as she picked up an unfamiliar garment. Holding it up she said, "Oliver, look at this."

"What is it?" he asked, moving closer.

"This isn't Annie's dress… it actually looks like one of Molly's!"

"What are you implying?"

Annoyed by her husband's lack of interest, Grace snipped, "Isn't it a bit odd that one of her dresses would be here?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "She might have left it here during one of her visits. You know how Annie likes to share her clothes with her."

"Why would it be out with Annie's clothes though?"

"Grace, the child has been missing. This is probably her only connection to her right now."

"Well then, explain to me why so many of Annie's dresses are lying around here."

"She was probably searching for Molly's dress."

Grace stared at Oliver intensely a moment before huffing, "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

Oliver laughed, "Yes, perhaps I do."

"I'm just trying to piece things together…" Grace explained as she sat down on the edge of Annie's bed with Molly's dress sitting in her lap. "I'm just so worried about both of them."

Realizing that his wife wasn't playing around, he quickly fell to her side and placed an arm across her shoulders. "Oh Grace, I know things look pretty hopeless right now, but it will all be okay."

Turning to her husband with sad eyes, she interrogated, "How can you say that with such certainty? It's been what, almost 2 weeks now? Molly is still missing, and our daughter is becoming a recluse."

Oliver didn't know how to respond. He didn't fully believe what he was saying… he was just trying to ease his wife. It wasn't an easy task—especially since she was often worrisome these days. He didn't blame her though, he was as well. But he was the man of the house; he couldn't let this break him for his girls' sake. It just wasn't fair. Hadn't Molly (and Annie) been through enough already? Sure, she brought it on herself by leaving… Were things really so bad? Miss Elliot seemed like a decent woman, but was she really? If there was an issue, Annie must have known about it. Why wouldn't she have gone to him, or Grace? She should know by now that they'd do anything to help. Then again, when they asked her if she knew anything about her friend's disappearance she'd said no and had been genuinely concerned since. This whole situation really was a mystery. Maybe Grace had been on to something with her notice of the papers, the clothes, and Molly's dress, as well as her thinking that there's something more going on with Annie than she was leading on… but what could it be?

Annie hadn't been too thrilled with Oliver and Grace's discussion with her in the car. How could they have snuck in her room behind her back? Normally she wouldn't have minded at all, but recent the circumstances called for drastic measures. Didn't they trust her? (The fact that she was hiding a 6 year old runaway in her closet was beside the point…) She didn't hide her anger from them and the instant they'd arrived back home she stormed into her room. Grace and Oliver followed and attempted to confront her, but the stress ended up taking over and Annie began to break down. She kept up her act, but she relayed to them some of the things Molly had confided in her. Maybe if they knew how lonely the little girl felt, they'd have sympathy for her. Maybe she'd be able to come clean at some point in the future.

Oliver assured her that he'd do anything to fix the situation if Molly was found. For a split second Annie considered revealing Molly (even though she hadn't seen her since she'd been home), but she thought against it. Instead she pled, "Please, just find her parents… please."

Oliver's reaction surprised not only Annie, but Grace as well. "I've tried Annie, I've tried! Lord knows I've tried…" There was a few moments there were both Warbucks girls thoughts Oliver was going to collapse, but he bravely pulled himself together. He explained to Annie that there simply were no homes available at the moment. Every time he thought he had a lead it ended up falling through. He explained that it had nothing to do with Molly personally. When he had found homes for the other girls, he went from oldest to youngest. He figured that the older girls would have fewer chances for families. Never did he imagine that Molly would be the tricky one to place. Also, he was trying to find a family in New York. He knew that Molly and Annie couldn't bear to be too far apart. But he let his daughter know that if Molly was found that he could start looking for families in the country.

Annie took everything her father said to heart. She wasn't crazy about the idea of Molly being far away, but if it meant she would find a home… She'd have to discuss it with her soon. Her parents—especially Grace—were catching on. Even if they hadn't pinpointed the situation, they knew something was amiss.

After Oliver and Grace had tucked her in and said goodnight, Annie got up again and searched around the room to see if Molly was hiding. When she hadn't found her, she crept out of her bedroom and began searching the house.

…

"Oliver, are you alright?" Grace asked as she climbed into bed. Oliver had been sitting on the edge staring into space for the past 10 minutes. When he didn't respond, Grace repeated, "Oliver?"

"Hmm?" he hummed as he snapped out of his trance.

Crawling back out from under the covers, Grace made her way over to her husband and kissed the back of his head. "I asked if you were alright." She then slid her hands down his arms and intertwined her fingers with his.

"I will be; just have a lot on my mind."

"I know what you mean," she sympathized.

Adjusting himself so he could face his wife, he started, "Why haven't the police found her yet? Seeing Annie so upset tonight pained me."

Grace gently placed a hand on Oliver's cheek. She didn't have an answer. The same question had been spinning around her mind all week. How far could a little kid get? Knowing that she had to say something, she finally muttered, "They will… e-eventually." Now she knew the difficulty Oliver had been going through trying to remain positive.

"I'm not so sure anymore."

Grace couldn't stand to see Oliver like this. He was stoic. "No matter what happens, we'll get through it together—the 3 of us."

"I know we will, my love. I just know what kind of pain Annie's going through right now. Molly was like her little sister: I know that kind of loss."

There was no stopping Grace from tearing up at the thought. The distraught look in Oliver's eyes didn't help either. Nonetheless, it was time to be strong for him. Blinking back her tears, she hugged him tightly and soothed, "Then she's lucky to have you to help her through it."

…

"Molly… Molly, where the heck are you?!" Annie was exhausted. She'd been searching for Molly for over an hour now. The little girl was nowhere to be found. Annie prayed and prayed that she hadn't run away again, but it was looking as though she had. What a night. Annie thought as she came in from the yard. She was still exhausted from her exchange with her parents. The last thing she wanted to be doing was search for her friend outside in the cold and dark. Oh well… at least no one had caught her. The Asp almost had though. He was making his nightly rounds as Annie searched the kitchen. Luckily she was able to hide in a cabinet until he passed.

Just as she was beginning to give up, she noticed an upstairs door slightly ajar. Not quite sure which room the door belonged to, she poked her head in to investigate. All she saw was the shadow of a stairwell. Oh, this must be the attic. Even though she'd lived in the Warbucks house for nearly 6 months, she had yet to visit every single room.

Another set of stairs intimidated the tired girl, but something told her to investigate. "Molly… are you up here?"

"Annie? Is that you?" she heard Molly answer from across the room.

Finding a light switch and flipping it on, Annie smiled wide. "There you are! I've looked everywhere for you."

Molly ran and hugged the redhead as she said, "I'm sorry I left Annie, but your mom almost found me. I hid in the hamper and when she was showing your daddy something I was able to sneak out. I didn't know where to hide but I thought this was place."

Annie looked around the room. Obviously nobody had been up here for a while due to the thick coating of dust on everything. "Good thinking. I wish we'd thought of this before."

"Me too. There's a lot more room here."

"And if you're up here I can stop worrying Mom and Daddy Warbucks."

"Huh?" Molly questioned.

Sitting down on an old sofa in the middle of the room, Annie began, "Oh Molly, it was terrible. I got mad at them for bein' in my room and I blocked my door when we got home so they couldn't get in. I went to find you in the closet but you weren't there so I was afraid you ran away again or that somebody caught you. Then Daddy and Mom got through and they started scolding me…"

Molly's naturally wide eyes grew even wider, "Did they whip you 'cause of me?"

"Oh no, they didn't lay a finger on me." Annie quickly corrected. "But it was still kinda intimidating since they've never raised their voices at me before. Well… Daddy has, but not since I've been adopted really. And the only time Mom yells is when she'd callin' me." She then shamefully admitted, "I cried a little bit… It was almost worse than when Miss Hannigan yelled, because when she yelled it meant nothin'. But I know Mom and Daddy love me… I felt bad for disappointing them enough to make them mad. I guess I felt bad for getting mad too."

Molly simply replied with astonishment in her voice, "Wow." She'd hardly ever seen Annie cry.

"Yeah. Anyways I kept up the story, but there was some truth to it."

Molly looked down in guilt, "It's my fault isn't it?"

"No, it's not your fault. I guess I just didn't handle it well."

"But you wouldn'ta fought if it weren't for me." Molly whimpered.

"You're worth it. I just feel bad lying to them… I wish I could know for sure what they'd do if I told them you were here."

"Please don't Annie!" Molly panicked.

Calmingly shushing her friend, Annie whispered, "Don't worry, don't worry. I'm not gonna tell. You'll stay up here. I'll bring you some more blankets and pillows tomorrow. I'll also bring some toys and stuff. I'll keep bringing you whatever food I can manage and I'll spend as much time with you as possible." Molly's frown had started turning into a smile, until Annie went on. "But… I'm gonna have to start spending more time with my parents."

"You mean I'm gonna be all alone again?"

"Not all the time, just for a little while. They're worried about me because I've been in my room so much. If I keep spending so much time with you they're gonna find you for sure."

With this realization, Molly was able to make peace with the idea. At least she was out of the cold and damp orphanage. At least she was able to see Annie every day instead of only a couple times a week. And at least she had tastier food and pretty clothes to wear. And best of all, the house was warm (even though the attic was a bit chillier than the closet). After a couple minutes had passed, a very sleepy Molly murmured, "Thank you, Annie."

An equally sleepy Annie replied, "You're welcome." Standing up, she grabbed a dusty old blanket and shook it out before covering Molly whom had now laid down on the couch. Kissing her forehead the same way her mother always did for her, she whispered, "Sleep well."

Annie wandered back to her room slowly. There were still a lot of things going around her mind. And I thought life was crazy back at the orphanage. She was almost to her room, but she glanced down the hallway leading to her parent's bedroom. She really was blessed to have them. Not every kid was so lucky. Tonight proved just how much they cared for her. When they saw how upset she was they put their displeasure about her outburst on hold while they comforted her.

Her feet changed direction and she almost sprinted to their room. Once she'd reached it, she quietly opened the door in case they were asleep. Indeed they were. She tip-toed across the floor and to their bed and then carefully climbed in, settling in between the two. As she snuggled under the blankets she thought, if Molly can find a family in the country I have to let her go… she needs to know how wonderful a mother and father can be again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Another week passed by and soon it had been nearly a month since Molly went missing from the orphanage. Annie was successful in keeping her friend hidden and, except from the night she had gone to Frances' house, she hadn't been asked any more prying questions from her parents. She had learned to divide up about half of her free time with Grace and Oliver so they wouldn't have a reason to suspect something and the other half with her young friend so she wouldn't become too lonely.

The attic was a much better place for Molly to hide, simply because it was so far away from the rest of the house and she didn't have to worry as much about being found by the staff or worry about making too much noise. Annie slipped her food from each of her meals and brought her toys, books (now that she had mastered the art of reading) and colouring books, but of course, that all got a bit repetitive. It would for anyone, but especially for a little girl who had so much energy she needed to burn off.

It was getting a bit hard for Annie to keep up her act with feeling upset about Molly's disappearance. She could see clear in her parent's faces that they were terrified about her wellbeing and every once in awhile, she would stage a breakdown, but it was hard for her to be 'worried' when she knew exactly how Molly was doing. Grace had sat her down multiple times now to tell her that they all might have to come to terms with the fact that Molly might never turn up and Annie had come very close to coming clean one of those times.

"No! You can't!" Molly protested when Annie had mentioned this Wednesday afternoon, three weeks after Molly had first gone missing.

Annie sighed. "Molly, I'm happy to help you and I'm glad that you're safe here, but you can't live in the attic your whole life. It just can't work. We're going to have to tell someone sooner or later, don't you think? Everyone is still so worried about you and Daddy said that he might be able to find you a family in the country,"

"But then I'll be far away from you, Annie." Molly pointed out stubbornly and Annie thought for a moment, frustrated with herself. She had taught Molly far too well. The little girl was too much like herself for her own good.

"I know, but at least you'll have a mom and daddy if you move. I'll invite you over as much as I can and we can spend the summer together. I'm worried about you living here for too long and my mom is already onto me. She knows something's going on, even if she doesn't know that you're here. It's bound to happen sometime,"

"What if your daddy can't find me a home, Annie? If I go back to the orphanage, I'll never leave ever again. They'll probably lock me in the closet forever. And then I'll never get to see you," Molly's eyes became downcast at this possibility and Annie put her arm around the younger girl.

"I told you I'd take care of you, Molly," she reminded her softly, "and I meant it. I won't let Daddy Warbucks take you back to the orphanage. I'm sure that Mom and Daddy will be happy to know that you're safe more than they'll be angry, anyways."

Tears began to well in Molly's eyes. "Please, Annie," she whispered, "These weeks have been the best of my whole life. I didn't have to worry about being yelled at by anyone or clean anything. I got to play and colour and read. Please don't tell,"

Annie thought for a moment. She really wished she knew what Grace and Oliver would do if she told them, because lately, their actions had been unpredictable. They had been nicer to her than any other adult and they were her parents, but she had been lying to them for three weeks. She had told them multiple times that she had no idea about Molly's whereabouts. What would they do when they found out she'd been telling stories that whole time?

"I don't know what to do, Molly..." Annie said quietly after a few moments and Molly looked up, surprised at this. For as long as she'd known Annie, the redhead had always had an answer to everything.

"Please don't tell, Annie," the girl repeated and Annie pulled her in for a tight hug, kissing the top of her forehead.

"I'll figure something out, Molly. I promise," she replied, to reassure the little girl in her embrace just as much as she was reassuring herself.

There had to be a solution to all of this, one that worked out for everyone. There just had to be.

...

Back downstairs, Oliver and Grace were in the office trying their best to get some work done, though both their minds were other places. Grace simply couldn't focus on anything other than why Molly hadn't yet been found. They'd spoken to the police numerous times in the past few weeks and from the sounds of it, they had searched the whole state of New York, but no sign of Molly. Annie seemed to be doing a little better ever since their discussion on Friday, but Grace was truly dreading the moment where she'd have to tell her little girl that they had found Molly dead, or that they were giving up the search. It would surely make it up there on the list of the hardest things she would have to do.

Her heart simply broke for the girl. Had things really gotten so unbearable that the only foreseeable option was to run away? Of course, she knew that the orphanage wasn't an ideal place to live, but she and Oliver thought they had been doing everything they could to make it better. They had been donating better clothing and letting Annie visit multiple times a week. If there was anything more they could've done, wouldn't Annie have told them? Wouldn't she have made sure it was done?

Grace sighed audibly and Oliver looked up from his papers, knowing the cause of the sigh. "Grace, I've done everything I can possibly do. I've involved the FBI, for goodness sake. We just have to accept the fact that Molly probably isn't going to be found."

"She was so little, Oliver, and she was so close to Annie. I can't imagine how painful it must be for Annie right now and there's nothing I can do about it. There's no way that I could make any of this better. I just wish that we had found her a family sooner. No little girl should go missing like this," Grace shook her head, trying to stop the tears that were coming on.

Oliver couldn't keep up his tough act for long. He hated to tell Grace that Molly wasn't going to be found, but it was going on a month. There was no way that a girl as young as Molly would have been able to fend for herself for such a long time. He hated to see Annie upset, but it seemed like this was the direction it was heading in.

"Oh, Grace," he said now, getting up from his seat and going towards hers, kissing her neck softly. "We'll make it through, love. I promise that we will. Annie will make it through this with our help. It's going to be tough for awhile, but we'll make it work,"

"I don't want to go to a funeral for a six-year-old, Oliver. I don't want to have to go on with our lives, knowing that a little girl died and there was maybe something we could've done. It just doesn't seem fair,"

She felt him nod against the top of her head. "I know, darling. I'm just praying that there's some miracle. That's all we can do right now. Pray, and wait."

...

"I think we should tell my parents this weekend," Annie said a few hours later, sitting in front of Molly on one of the attic's couches. It was directly after dinner and Annie had come up to bring Molly some food.

Molly's eyes widened. "What?! Why?" She asked, incredulous to why her friend would think of doing such a thing.

"Molly, they're really _really _worried about you and I don't think that the police is going to search much longer. You can't live up here forever."

"Why can't I?"

"Because...because you can't, Molly. You haven't eaten a real meal in over three weeks, you don't even have a real bed and just going to the bathroom is a risk because someone might find you. It's not healthy,"

"It's better than the orphanage was,"

Annie sighed. Molly was too young to really understand why she couldn't stay in the attic forever and Annie didn't know how to explain it. _She_ fully understood everything and the risks she was taking. She felt so incredibly awful for lying to her parents and she just wanted it all to be over, but she also didn't want to betray Molly's trust. She had to protect Molly.

"Annie?" Molly asked quietly after a few moments had passed and her friend hadn't given her response.

Annie took Molly's hands into her own and made sure the little girl was looking her in the eyes. "Molly, I love you very much and I know that it sounds scary to tell my parents, but they care about you, too. I promise that I won't let you be taken back to the orphanage. You've gotta trust me, okay? I won't let you be taken back. I promise."

Molly thought about this for a few moments before holding out her pinkie. "Do you pinkie swear?" She asked. Annie smiled and linked her pinkie with the girl's tiny one.

"I pinkie swear," she confirmed.

Molly yawned softly and Annie giggled.

"C'mon, Molly, let's get you to bed. It's getting late," she replied and Molly put up no protest to this. She laid down on the couch and Annie handed her an extra pillow before covering her with one of the heaviest quilts she had been able to find. It was chilly in the attic.

"Goodnight, Annie. Thank you," Molly mumbled sleepily as she turned over onto her side. Annie smiled softly and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Of course, Molly. I love you. Goodnight,"

The little girl managed to mumble an 'i love you' back before she quickly fell asleep. Annie made sure she was wrapped up in the quilt warmly before shutting off the attic light and going downstairs so she could get ready for bed before Oliver and Grace came in to tuck her in. She waited no more than ten minutes before there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in!" She called and slowly, the door opened to reveal Grace and Oliver. Grace smiled and came over, pulling Annie's covers up around the little redhead.

"Goodnight, darling. I love you very much. Sleep well and sweet dreams," Grace said quietly, brushing Annie's curls back from her forehead and placing a soft kiss on it.

"Goodnight, Mom. I love you," Annie replied and hugged her mother tightly before Grace let her go. Oliver came over afterwards and kissed her cheek before saying his good nights. Once they were gone, Annie snuggled deep underneath her covers and fell into a deep sleep.

She and Molly were going to come clean and everything was going to be okay. She had to believe that.

...

The redhead awoke again around two o'clock, having the strangest feeling that Molly needed her for something. The younger girl was prone to nightmares and ever since she had begun to hide in the attic, Annie had made a habit of going up there at least once during the night, just to make sure Molly was sleeping fine and didn't need anything. It made Annie feel much better to know that Molly wasn't too scared to be up there all by herself. The attic got fairly dark at night. It scared even Annie, but either it didn't bother Molly that much or she was just putting on a brave face. She honestly wasn't sure.

Quietly, she hopped out of her bed and crept down the hallway, being careful not to make too much noise. She didn't want to wake anyone and risk their cover being blown. Especially since it was two in the morning. Luckily, she made it to the attic stairwell without incident. Once she stepped into the stairwell, she could see light creeping out of the bottom of the door and knew that something was amiss. She quickly hopped up the steps and opened the door to reveal a nearly freezing attic. _Yeech, _Annie thought as she came in, _it's never been this cold any other nights. _

"Molly, are you alright?" Annie asked when she didn't see Molly on the couch, confused. Where could that girl have gone?

"A-Annie?" A feeble voice replied from beneath Annie. The eleven year old looked down at this. Molly was sitting down on a wooden board, bent over a bucket that looked like it was filled with vomit. The girl had sweat sticking to her forehead and she looked absolutely awful.

"Molly, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Annie replied, sitting down beside Molly and brushing some of her hair away from her eyes. The stench of vomit instantly entered the air.

Molly slowly shook her head, grimace on her face. "I don't feel so good, Annie," she whispered.

Annie's eyes softened as she felt Molly's forehead. It was burning hot.

"I can see. Did you throw up?" She asked and Molly nodded, tears filling her eyes. Annie wrapped her arms around Molly.

"Make it stop, Annie. It hurts," the little girl whimpered.

"What hurts, Molly? What do I need to make stop?" Annie replied, gently. She didn't like how sick Molly sounded.

"Everything, but especially my tummy. It hurts so much. Make it _stop_," the tears began to spill out onto Molly's cheeks and Annie quickly pulled her in tighter, beginning to soothe her.

"It's alright, Molly. Annie's here. Annie will make you feel better, alright?" Annie replied and before she could do anything more, Molly lurched forward to vomit some more. Annie simply held her hair back and rubbed her back as she did so.

"Oh, Molly," Annie said softly once the little girl was done. Molly looked up sadly.

"Make it stop, Annie. It hurts so much," she repeated and the two girls sat in silence for a few moments afterwards as Annie thought about the best way to handle things. She knew Molly needed her badly now, but she also didn't want to risk her being found. She'd just have to be very careful with Molly.

"Come on, Molly, I'll bring you downstairs and you can sleep with me. It's way too cold for you to sleep here anymore and I want to take care of you. I'll make this better," she helped Molly stand up and wrapped her up in the quilt from the couch before they headed towards the attic's door. They slowly made their way down the stairs and back to Annie's room. Once there, Annie turned down her covers and made a spot for Molly to lay in.

"It's f-freezing," Molly said once she was tucked in again, her teeth chattering. Annie frowned at this. The heat was definitely on in her bedroom and it was much warmer here than the attic had been. Looking around for something else to cover Molly with, she spotted the quilt from the attic and lay it over the little girl.

"Here, that should be better. Now, I want you to rest, alright? I'll be right here if you need me. I'll make sure there's a bucket by your bed if you need to throw up again." Annie said.

"Thanks, Annie." The little girl said quietly and Annie smiled.

"Of course, Molly. I don't mind at all. You're like my sister. Now, I really want you to rest, okay? If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." Annie tucked the girl in tighter and Molly closed her eyes, sleep sounding very appealing at the moment. Relieved when Annie heard her breathing even out, the redhead then headed back to the attic so she could get the vomit bucket and empty it out. Once it was emptied, she set it beside Molly's side of the bed before climbing in on her other side. She pulled the little girl in for a tight embrace, stroking her hair softly as she thought about what to do next.

It was definitely not good that Molly had gotten so sick so quickly, especially since nobody else knew she was at the mansion. It was going to be tricky covering their tracks now, but Annie knew that Molly needed her right now. The attic was definitely not an option anymore. It was far too cold.

She sighed. She would have to try her best to get out of going to school the next morning. She needed to be there for Molly.

...

Annie slept restlessly for the rest of the night. Between her worry for Molly, her worry about someone coming into her room the next morning to find the two of them, and the little girl next to her who just couldn't stay asleep, drifting off was rough.

She'd taken care of Molly before when she was sick, but it had never quite gotten this bad. She was really worried that something serious was going on with how sick she had seemed earlier and given the fact that everyone thought Molly was still missing, she wasn't sure she would be able to nurse Molly back to health on her own. And then there was the worry about someone coming in the next morning. Most days, Annie woke up on her own for school, but there were still times where one of her parents came in to just make sure she was up. With Molly in her bed now, that would be quite the situation for them to find. She didn't have the heart to send her friend up to the attic again, though and the closet floor was simply too uncomfy. They'd have to make do. Annie had learned how to be quite sneaky in her years at the orphanage.

To add to Annie's worry, Molly kept waking up about every half hour to forty five minutes, each time having a different complaint. She was either too cold, felt sick, uncomfortable or she just couldn't sleep. Annie's heart went out to her friend, feeling awful that she seemed so miserable and she tried everything she could to ease the little girl back to sleep, but each time it took at the very least fifteen minutes. That wasn't to mention that Molly kept clinging to the older girl just because she was feeling so ill, which effectively prevented Annie from sleep. She didn't mind, though. Molly needed her and she was glad to be there.

By the time that the sun began to rise and it was almost time for Annie to wake up for school, though, the redhead was exhausted. She had gotten no more than four hours sleep and she felt in no shape to go learn for seven hours, not to mention she didn't want to leave Molly.

When seven rolled around, Annie carefully pulled herself away from Molly's embrace, hoping that the little girl would be able to sleep better now, and left her bedroom. She found Grace walking down the hallway towards her room as she stepped out and she let out a breath of relief. She had come so close to being found.

"Good morning, darling," Grace said when she saw her daughter, coming over towards Annie and hugging her.

"Good morning. Hey, Mom, can I uh, stay home today?" Annie replied and Grace gave her daughter a pointed look.

"How come? Are you feeling alright? You look tired," Grace put a hand to Annie's forehead. "You don't feel warm, sweetheart. What's the matter?

"I'm just really worried about Molly," Annie replied. It wasn't exactly a lie. "Why hasn't she been found yet?"

Grace smiled sadly and knelt beside Annie, brushing some of her hair away from her forehead. "Oh, Annie. I know that you're worried about her. We all are, but life has to go on. You have to go to school, darling. We promise that we'll come get you as soon as we know anything."

"Please, Mom. I really just want to be home today," Annie said, really putting on a show for Grace now.

"Annie, darling, you have to go. You need to learn and I'm just not sure Molly's ever going to be found. I really hate to think that way, but she's been gone for so long."

Annie shook her head. "She was in my dream last night, Mom. Something's giving me a funny feeling about her. I really just want to be here. She needs me, I can feel it,"

"Just this one day, Annie. Alright? If it really means that much to you," Grace replied, though she didn't have as much faith as her daughter did.

"It really does," Annie affirmed, a smile creeping into her face. _Victory!_

"Well, I suppose missing one day won't hurt too much. Come on, darling, let's go get breakfast. I'll explain this to your father."

Grace wrapped her arm around Annie and the two went downstairs to the dining room. Annie was relieved beyond belief that Grace was letting her stay home from school, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Now she didn't have to go through seven hours of school, worrying endlessly about whether or not Molly was okay without her. This way, she could stay home and be there if her little friend needed.

When they got down to the dining room, Oliver was already sitting down at the table and sipping his coffee as he read the morning paper.

"Good morning, ladies," he said, looking up as they came in. Annie smiled and came over to her father, hugging him tightly.

"Good morning, Daddy Warbucks. How did you sleep?"

"Good enough, I suppose. How about you?"

Annie shrugged. "Not that great. I kept waking up and couldn't fall back asleep. Molly was in my dream last night,"

"Yes, and your daughter is quite insistent on staying home today. I told her that she could," Grace supplied and Oliver looked to Annie at this.

"What's the matter, darling?" He asked, concerned.

"Nothing really, except for that I'm really worried about Molly. I just have this weird feeling that she needs me."

Oliver sighed and ruffled her hair. "Annie, sweetheart, I think you may have to start to come to term with the fact that she may never be found. It's been almost a month and I've had every single policeman on the case. If she was going to be found anytime, I'd assume it would have been by now."

Annie shook her head at this, knowing that she had to appear like she was truly worried. "No, Daddy. She's going to be found. I'm sure she will," she replied optimistically.

Oliver smiled sadly and kissed her forehead. "Well let's just hope that she's picked up a few things from you." He replied. He hoped against all hope that was the case.

...

As soon as Annie was dismissed from breakfast, she went directly back to her bedroom. Oliver and Grace had some sort of project to get done for work, which was great for Annie since she didn't have to worry about them coming to look for her anytime soon. It was a couple more hours that she didn't have to worry about hiding Molly.

The little girl was still fast asleep when Annie got back to her bedroom, but she could tell Molly had been up since she'd left as the covers were messier than how Annie had left them and the bucket was filled up again. Annie frowned at this as it meant that Molly had yet again thrown up. That would make at least five times since two in the morning. Annie didn't know how much her friend had left in her stomach, especially since she had been eating so little lately.

She leaned forward and felt Molly's forehead. It seemed to be even warmer than it had been when Annie checked earlier. That concerned her even more. Something was definitely going on.

"Annie?" Molly asked quietly a few minutes later, sitting up a bit as she slowly woke up. Annie smiled.

"Good morning, Molly. How are you feeling?" She replied, sitting up a little straighter. Molly grimaced.

"My tummy hurts, Annie. Real bad. And I keep throwin' up." She said quietly and reached her arms out for Annie. Annie sat down beside her friend and pulled her into her arms, feeling the fever radiate off of Molly.

"Do you want to try to eat something? I brought you an apple and half a waffle. Maybe getting something into your stomach will help you feel better," she suggested gently, but Molly grimaced even more at this.

"I don't wanna eat anything, Annie. I'm not hungry." She said, wrapping her arms around Annie tightly.

"Maybe later," Annie conceded, beginning to rub Molly's back. "You're burning up, Molly. Are you hot?"

Molly shook her head. "I'm freezing, Annie. It's really cold here,"

Annie frowned at this. "Well, you've got a fever. How about you drink some water?" She grabbed a glass from her nightstand and handed it to her friend, who took small, hesitant sips.

"Don't you have school?" Molly asked as she drank.

"Yeah, but Mom and Daddy let me stay home. I told 'em that I was really worried about you since they think you're still missing."

"Are you still gonna tell them about me being here?" The little girl asked, a hint of panic still in her voice. Annie stroked her hair.

"Probably when you get better, I will. Right now, I'm just worried about getting you healthy again,"

The two sat in silence for a couple moments before Molly suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth, feeling as if she was going to be sick. She scrambled out of Annie's tight embrace and ran towards the bucket, barely making it in time. Annie came over and sat down beside her friend, rubbing her back more as she vomited up the very little water she'd just drank.

"Oh, Annie, I feel _awful_." Molly said quietly once she was done, looking up at the redhead sadly. "I don't like being sick,"

Annie smiled slightly. "I know, Molly. I don't like you being sick, either." She kissed Molly's forehead softly. "C'mon, let's get you back into bed." She stood up and reached her hand out for Molly to take. The little girl gratefully took Annie's hand and let herself be led back to bed. Annie tucked her in tightly with a kiss on the forehead.

"Annie, please make it stop," Molly pleaded quietly once she had been tucked in under three or four blankets. "I hate being sick," she whimpered and Annie smiled sadly.

"I promise that I'm doing everything I can, Molly. If there was something else I could do to help you feel better, I swear I'd do it. Just try and get to sleep now, alright? You need all the rest you can get,"

Molly sighed a little and nodded, leaning her head back against the pillow, closing her eyes slowly, and falling asleep quickly all while Annie stroked her hands to comfort her.

_Well, _the redhead though as she watched her little friend sleep, _at least one of us is sleeping._

...

As the day went on, Molly only seemed to go from bad to worse. Annie tried to bring her food during lunchtime, but the little girl absolutely refused to eat anything in fear that she'd throw up again. She spent the majority of the day sleeping and if not that, Annie was reading her story books. Annie periodically checked her forehead and her temperature seemed to be getting higher and higher. Molly had also thrown up twice more, both times after she had tried to stomach down some water, so naturally, Annie was becoming concerned. She knew it wasn't good that Molly couldn't keep anything down nor was it good that she hadn't had anything to eat since seven the night before. Annie just thanked her lucky stars that Oliver and Grace were preoccupied with work and not with herself. She didn't know how she could make up a feasible lie about this situation.

Meanwhile, she was attempting every trick she knew to get Molly to eat or drink _something_, but her friend saw through all of them. She was quite the clever little girl.

"I gotta pee," Molly announced around five that night as Annie was reading aloud to her. A smile crept upon Annie's face at this, perceiving this as good news since Molly hadn't gone to the bathroom all day long. Maybe she was finally beginning to feel better.

"Go ahead. You know where it is," Annie replied and Molly got up from the bed, walking towards the restroom. Annie took this opportunity to make the bed a little tidier, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard a thud from behind her. She turned around to find Molly laying down on the floor, her eyes shut tight.

"Molly!" The redhead exclaimed, rushing to her friend's side. She brought her head into her lap and began to stroke her face softly. "Molly...Molly you gotta wake up for me," she urged, tears beginning to well in her eyes at how unlively Molly looked, but to no avail. Molly stayed unconscious, limp in Annie's arms.

The older girl continued trying to wake Molly up for a couple minutes before she picked her up and carried her back to the bed, defeated. She had no choice left.

She had to go to her parents. There was something really wrong with Molly and she needed help.

Before leaving her bedroom, Annie propped Molly up on a couple of pillows and filled up the water glass should Molly wake up while she was gone. She hated that this was how Oliver and Grace were going to find out about their secret, but Molly needed help as soon as possible. She went down to Oliver's study and knocked on the door lightly, only waiting a few moments before Grace came to open the door.

"Annie, what's the matter?" She asked when she took in her daughter's distressed looking face. There were tears lingering in her eyes and Annie rarely, if ever, cried.

"Please don't be mad at me," the little girl whispered as she stepped into the office. Grace's eyebrow furrowed at this, concern blooming.

"Annie, darling, what's wrong? What would we be mad about?" She replied, kneeling down in front of Annie and taking her hands.

"Annie, whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be that bad," Oliver added, getting up from his desk. "Why don't you tell us what's on your mind?"

Annie glanced between the two of them and took a deep breath before speaking. "Please don't yell at me when I tell you this. Molly's not missing anymore and she never really was. She's been living here in the mansion ever since a couple days after she first left."

Oliver and Grace shared a shocked glance as they tried to process this.

"What do you mean, Annie?" Grace asked after a couple of moments, not quite understanding.

"She found the mansion all by herself, she walked all the way from the orphanage to here. I was outside when she got here and when I saw her, I told her that we should tell you guys, but she was terrified that you'd take her straight back to the orphanage. She still is, but now she's really really sick and I'm worried about her,"

"Honey, are you telling me she's been in our home for almost a month and you haven't told either of us? How have you kept her hidden for so long? Where's she been staying?"

"Well, at first she was sleeping in my closet, but then she found the attic when you were in my room that one night. I've been stashing some food in my pocket and giving her some of it and I've been letting her play with my toys and books. Last night, she got really sick all of a sudden and she's been sleeping in my room all day, but just a little bit ago, she got up to go to the bathroom and she fainted. I don't know what's wrong with her, but she's really sick."

Grace gasped when she heard this, her heart breaking a little about the huge weight her little girl had been carrying around. "Oh, Annie, sweetheart. You should have told your father and I sooner. We wouldn't have sent her back to the orphanage. I'm just so glad to hear that she's not missing anymore. I wish you knew that you could have trusted us with this. We care about her very, very much, you know. Right, Oliver?" Grace looked up to her husband who had been silently watching his daughter and wife this whole time.

After being asked this question, he was silent for a moment before he spoke. "You mean to tell me that I've had every policeman and even the FBI search the entire state of New York for a little girl who's been in my own _attic _all this time? Well, that's a little bit inconvenient for all of us, but I am very glad that Molly is safe. We'll make sure she's okay." He asked, chuckling to himself. Annie giggled at this.

"Yeah, I guess so. She's really, really sick now, though. I'm really worried about her," she said, sadly looking down now. Grace placed a hand on Annie's shoulder and smiled warmly.

"Well, then I suppose we'd best go and see what's the matter, don't you think? We can discuss all this once we figure out what's going on. Molly needs our attention now," Grace got up from the couch and Annie took her by the hand, leading her straight up to her bedroom.

Once they entered, Grace gasped when she saw the little girl laying in the bed, looking pale, thin and sickly.

"Has she eaten anything today? When was the last time she had anything to eat?" She whispered to her daughter.

"Nothing since last night. I brought her up some food this morning and this afternoon, but she won't eat anything. She doesn't want to throw up any more. She was drinking some water earlier, but she threw that all up,"

"Hmm," Grace said, deep in thought. It was definitely not good that Molly wasn't eating, especially since she wasn't getting much food now as it was. She let go of Annie's hand and came over to the side of the bed, kneeling down and feeling Molly's forehead.

"Oh, she's just burning up," she commented quietly, concern furrowing onto her face. "Annie, go get me a wet washcloth. We've got to get this fever under control,"

Annie did as she was told, going into her bathroom, wetting a washcloth and handing it back to her mother, who pressed it against Molly's forehead. The little girl's eyes slowly fluttered open at this gesture.

"Molly, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Grace asked quietly as Molly looked around, looking confused.

"Mrs. Warbucks? Are you gonna send me back now? Are you mad? Don't be mad at Annie, Mrs. Warbucks. Be mad at me! Please don't send me back, though! Please!" Molly begged once she realized her surroundings and what has gotten her there.

"Shh, darling, don't stress yourself out about that right now. Mr. Warbucks and I will make sure that you are put in a very good home once you get better, alright?" Grace said calmly. "For right now, let's just get this nasty sickness under control. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Molly tried to sit up a bit, but since she was too weak to do so on her own, Annie helped prop her up.

"My tummy really, really hurts and I keep throwin' up, Mrs. Warbucks, and the room was spinny when I stood up. I'm really cold and thirsty, too," Molly said, whimpering a little. Grace smiled and took her clammy hand.

"Call me Grace, sweetheart. You've been throwing up a lot, huh? I bet that's not much fun. Do you think you might want to eat something? Maybe that'll settle your stomach a little."

At the thought of food, Molly immediately shook her head. "No. No food," she said forcefully and Grace smiled even wider.

"I know that it might not sound very appealing right now, sweetheart, but I think that eating a little might make you feel better,"

Molly shook her head again, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I don't want to. I don't wanna throw up anymore. It's icky,"

"Oh, sweetheart. Don't cry, alright? You don't have to eat anything if you don't want to. We won't force you to." Grace said gently, surprised at the little girl's reaction.

Molly smiled a little. "Thank you," she said quietly and Grace nodded.

"Of course, darling. Why don't you try and get some rest? We'll be here if you need us," she suggested and Molly nodded slightly, closing her eyes again. To Annie's surprise, the little girl drifted off in a matter of five or so minutes. _Why couldn't she have fallen asleep that easily at three in the morning? _Annie wondered to herself. Grace truly must have known what she was doing.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Annie whispered now, coming to sit down beside her mother. Grace smiled and put her arm around her.

"Of course she will, darling. She's just a little bit under the weather right now, but we'll all be here to help her get better. I'll have your father call the doctor and come check her out, still."

Annie wrapped her arms around Grace. "Thank you for not yelling at her. She was really afraid to tell you,"

"Oh, darling, I wouldn't ever yell at her when she's sick like this, especially not in these circumstances. She didn't run away just because she thought it would be fun, Annie. She was really upset at the orphanage and we will make sure she doesn't have to go back."

As Grace finished up, there was a soft knock to Annie's bedroom. The two girls looked up and saw Oliver in the doorway, smiling at them.

"How's our patient doing?" He whispered and Grace rose from where she was sitting to go over to him.

"She's doing alright, but I think you should probably call Dr. Larson and have him make a house call. Molly's got a fairly high fever, she won't keep anything down, and she said she was feeling dizzy. I'd feel better if she got checked out by him,"

"Consider it done." He agreed, kissing her cheek. "Maybe I'll have Mrs. Pugh make her some soup, as well? Do you think she's up to eating any?"

Grace chuckled at this. "I suggested the idea to her, but she was very against it. I think she's afraid she's going to throw up again, which is understandable. It's definitely not a pleasant experience."

Oliver nodded. "Maybe we should just let her rest right now. Why don't we all go downstairs and wait for Dr. Larson to arrive?" He directed this last part to both Grace and Annie, who was currently sitting at her friend's side, stroking her palm softly.

"Can't I stay with her?" She whispered and Grace came over, placing a hand on Annie's shoulder.

"Come on, darling, let's let Molly rest. I'll let you come check on her, but I think the three of us need to discuss all this." She replied and Annie glanced back at the little girl, before realising her mother was right and reluctantly nodding. She placed a soft kiss on Molly's forehead before they all left the bedroom.

Once back in the office, Oliver placed a call to Dr. Larson while Grace and Annie sat on the sofa, talking quietly.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner, sweetheart? We've all been worried sick about Molly." Grace chided gently and Annie shrugged.

"I really wanted to tell you guys, but Molly kept begging me not to. I didn't want her to feel like she couldn't trust me anymore. I wanted to protect her," she replied simply, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Oh, darling. You should've known that we wouldn't send her back. I knew that she was unhappy at the orphanage, but I didn't think that she was so unhappy that she'd run away. I really wish you had told us, darling. You shouldn't keep secrets from us,"

Annie looked down in guilt. "Molly just seemed so sad, Mom. She seemed like she felt nobody would ever love her again. I just wanted to give her some hope," she said softly and Grace smiled sadly, kissing her forehead.

"It was very sweet of you, sweetheart, but when you have a problem like that you need to come to me or Daddy. We will always help you."

"Are you mad?"

"Well, not mad exactly. Maybe a little disappointed that you didn't come to us about this, but it's understandable. Molly sure is lucky that she has a friend like you."

"Are you going to send her back to the orphanage once she's better?"

Grace shook her head. "Absolutely not. Your father and I will do everything we can to make sure that she never goes back to that place. For now, I guess you can just say she's having an extended sleepover."

Annie smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around Grace. "Thank you so much, Mom. I love you,"

Grace kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too, darling." She replied ss Oliver began walking towards the two of them.

"Dr. Larson said he should be here within the hour. How are you holding up, sweetheart?" He asked, sitting down beside his wife and looking at Annie with worried eyes. The little girl simply shrugged.

"I'm just kinda tired. Molly kept me up last night. She wasn't feeling good at all. I feel so bad for her,"

"Well, I think that you're being a very good friend to her with everything you've done. I'm proud of you. Well, I'm proud aside from the fact that you've been hiding her for three weeks, but even then I'm proud that you were so clever."

Annie smiled widely. "She's like my little sister. I'd do anything for her. Even hide her in a closet," she giggled and both her parents wrapped their arms around their daughter in a tight embrace.

...

Dr. Larson arrived at the mansion about a half hour later and Grace immediately led him up to Annie's bedroom. Naturally, the redhead insisted that she be there, as well, since Molly didn't do well with strangers. The little girl was still fast asleep when they arrived and Grace sat on the edge of Annie's bed, stroking Molly's hair back from her forehead softly.

"Molly, sweetheart, can you wake up for me?" She asked gently as she did so, not liking how hot her forehead was still. Molly stirred after a couple moments and she blinked confusedly a couple times before her eyes settled on her friend's mother.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a weak voice and Grace smiled.

"Nothing's wrong, dear, but we do have a doctor here to see what's the matter with you. Do you mind if he checks you over?" She asked and panic flashed across Molly's face.

"Don't worry, Molly. My mom and I will be here," Annie spoke out now, taking her friend by the hand.

Molly glanced between the redhead and the unfamiliar doctor before reluctantly nodding. "Okay," she agreed meekly and Annie smiled, sitting down beside her and pulling her up into a sitting position. Dr. Larson set his medical bag down on the nightstand and began to examine Molly, who flinched here and there as he did so.

Luckily for her, he was done within ten minutes and while Annie lulled her friend back to sleep, Dr. Larson spoke to Grace out in the hallway.

"What's the matter with her?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing too serious, Mrs. Warbucks. It seems like the little girl has the flu coupled with severe dehydration. What I suggest is that you give her as much fluid as possible and have her rest around the clock. If she seems to be getting worse, then by all means, call me again. It shouldn't take more than five or so days before she gets better, though,"

"You said to give her as much fluid as possible, but part of the problem is that she's been vomiting everything that goes into her stomach. What should we do then?"

Dr. Larson sighed. "That's a bit of a trickier situation, but it's fixable. Just give her some water every hour on the hour and if she throws it up, maybe try some soup. The thicker fluids tend to stay down, but be careful not to give her too much at a time. Her stomach's been used to eating very little amounts the past few weeks and if she's given too much, her stomach will just reject it again. I wouldn't force the issue tonight, though. Leave a glass of water by her bedside and just let her sleep."

Grace nodded. "Should I worry about my daughter catching it? I don't think she'll want to leave Molly's side,"

"I think that if she was going to catch it, she's already been exposed to the germs. She'll be fine,"

"Well, thank you for coming on such short notice, Dr. Larson. My husband and I really appreciate it."

Dr. Larson smiled. "Of course, Mrs. Warbucks. I hope she makes a quick recovery. I'll show myself out," he nodded to Grace and began walking down the hallway. Once he was out of sight, she went back to Annie's bedroom. Annie was sitting at Molly's side still, whispering soothing words to her as she tried to get her off to sleep. Grace leaned against the doorway and watched them, smile on her face. Within five or so minutes, Molly finally drifted off and Grace came over to sit down beside her daughter.

"Maybe we should move Molly into a guest room, sweetheart. That way you can have your bedroom to yourself again," she whispered quietly and Annie shook her head.

"No, she can stay here." Annie replied, "I don't mind. I'd rather she be here, actually. Just so I'm here if she needs me. What did Dr. Larson say was wrong?"

"She's dehydrated and she has the flu, but he said that as long as she drinks enough and gets a good amount of rest, she should be better within a few days. I am a bit concerned she hasn't eaten anything today, though." Grace thought for a moment. "I'll just ask Mrs. Pugh to make her something to eat for dinner. Maybe she'll be more open to the idea when she wakes up,"

Annie smiled. "I hope so. Is it almost dinnertime? I'm hungry." She replied and Grace nodded.

"It is, my dear." She stood up and took her daughter by the hand. "I want you to let Molly sleep tonight, darling. I know you might want to bring her food or water, but let her ask for it, alright? Dr. Larson said it's crucial for her to get as much rest as possible,"

Annie nodded. "Okay, Mom." She agreed, "I really hope that she gets better soon," she said, looking at her friend sadly. Grace kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sure she will, my dear. I'm sure she will."


	7. Chapter 7

The next several days were spent nursing Molly back to health. Annie was by her side every spare moment she had. Much to her dismay, Oliver and Grace had insisted that she attend school. Though deep down—especially when Molly showed signs of regaining strength—she was glad to get out of the house. She was starting to understand how Molly felt when she was hiding. Only instead of having to keep quiet at risk of getting caught, she had to stay quiet at risk of waking up the patient. Luckily now, Molly was more often awake. The worst of the illness was gone and all that was left was a hint of nausea and the sniffles.

"I'm so glad you're better, Molly. I was really worried about ya." Annie stated as she shuffled the deck of cards they had been playing with.

In agreement, Molly nodded, "Me too. I hated feeling so icky."

"I'm not gonna lie," Annie began. "It wasn't fun cleaning up your 'ickiness'."

"Thank you for taking care of me. And thank your mom and dad too," the little girl smiled.

"Of course," Annie also grinned.

"So do you really mean it?" Molly interrogated.

With a look of confusion, Annie wondered, "What?"

"Do really mean it when you say that they aren't gonna send me back to the orphanage?" she clarified.

Now dealing the cards, Annie nodded, "Yup. I heard Daddy Warbucks on the phone with Miss Elliot. And he sent my mom to sign some papers or something so that you can stay with us until they find you a home."

Picking up her given cards, Molly frowned, "I'm going to a home in the country, aren't I?"

With an unconvincing smile, Annie shrugged, "Not necessarily…"

"You're lying," the little girl accused.

"Not exactly… I mean, well… maybe a little bit. Daddy's already called everyone in the city who would even consider adopting a kid. Unless the Depression ends I don't think anyone wants another mouth to feed."

"So that means I won't get a family in the country either…"

"Hey, you might!" the redhead said optimistically. "Maybe a family on a farm will get ya and you'll grow your own food. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Not making eye contact with the older girl, Molly shrugged, "I guess so."

"What's wrong?"

"I just don't wanna be so far away."

Her smile fading, Annie set her hand of cards down beside her and scooted around next to the younger girl. Wrapping an arm around her, she sympathized, "I know… but like I said before, I'll visit all the time, and we'll spend all summer together, and I'll have you come over here for long weekends. Now that you're reading we can write each other letters too and talk on the phone."

Hugging Annie back, Molly continued, "But what if I have a bad dream? Who's gonna help me feel better?"

"You'll have a mom and dad just like I do. They'll tuck you in and make your bad dreams disappear and they'll love you so much," she assured.

A hint of a smile now appeared on Molly's face, "I guess that sounds kinda good. I miss having a mama."

Hugging Molly tightly, Annie said softly, "You're gonna have a mama soon—I just know it."

Unknown to either of the girls, Grace had been watching from the doorway. Tears were lingering in her eyes due to the way the conversation had turned. Annie was right—Molly was like her little sister. _We can't separate them…_

…

The next morning, Grace put on her best dress, put extra effort into her makeup and styling her hair, and met Oliver downstairs nice and early for breakfast—before either of the girls woke up and needed attention.

The night before, Oliver had said that he had to get an early start to the day due to an important meeting. So, he was a bit surprised to see his wife up and ready just as the sun was rising. "My dear, I told you to sleep in today," he said has he stood to kiss her cheek.

"I know," she chirped. "I just thought it we be nice if we could have a nice, romantic breakfast… just the two of us."

Looking suspiciously at his wife, he set his glass of orange juice down and gave Grace his full attention. "You're up to something," he observed. "What is it?"

Playing dumb, Grace sat in the seat across from him and said, "Whatever do you mean? Can't a girl just be happy to spend some time with her husband?"

Oliver was dumbfounded by this behavior. Never had he heard Grace speak with such a high and flighty voice. As he looked at her more closely, he noticed her appearance. She hadn't worn so much makeup since a gala they attended in the beginning of fall. "Alright Grace, enough. I want to know what you're up too and I want to know now," he demanded with annoyance.

Shooting him a pouty face, she then stood up, walked around to the back of his chair, and started massaging his shoulders. "Oh Oliver, there's no need to get so tense. All I have is a little, teeny, tiny favor to ask of you…"

"Why do I get the feeling this favor isn't as little as you say?"

Not being able to keep up this act any longer, she returned to her normal manner and moved to face Oliver. "Okay, no more games." Taking a deep breath, she strongly asked, "Can we adopt Molly?"

Oliver took a moment to respond. "I thought we agreed to meet the couple from Canton who were interested after the first of the year?"

With a sigh, Grace went back to her seat. "I know we did, but when I went upstairs to check on the girls yesterday I overheard them talking. Molly told Annie that she was nervous about being far away from her. And Annie was telling her how great it would be for her to have parents again."

"I know as much from what Annie's told me. But isn't it a bit impetuous to adopt a child whom we've only known has been here for a we-" he stopped once he realized what he was saying.

A sly grin crossed Grace's lips. "Just like Annie—and look how wonderfully that worked out for us." When Oliver failed to say anything else, Grace continued. "I just wish you could have seen them together. Yes, I'm sure after some time they'd both adjust to being apart, but why should they if we're able to prevent it? Besides, you said yourself that you wanted Annie to have a sibling someday."

_I had more of a baby in mind… _Oliver took some more time to think. Annie really did have a special bond with Molly. She cared about her enough to hide her in fear they'd send her back to the orphanage. And she also cared enough to know that she needed adult help when the child fell ill. Molly was the name he heard more often than anyone else before this whole fiasco; she was her best friend. _I guess if Molly was living here it would save many trips to visit… And Grace is obviously very taken with the girl. There is something endearing about her, isn't there? It's those big brown eyes. After worrying so much about her while she was 'missing' and after seeing how sick she was, I guess it would be pretty hard to see her go… _Standing up, walking over to his wife and taking her hands, he said, "We'll have the papers signed by the end of the day," he smiled. "I'll stop by the orphanage on my way home."

Grace gasped as she jumped up and flung her arms around Oliver. "Honestly?!"

With a laugh and hugging her back, he repeated, "Honestly."

"I love you so much, darling. How can I ever thank you?"

He pulled his head back and said cheekily, "How about a kiss?"

"I'd be happy to oblige," she giggled as she carried out his request.

After Grace 'thanked' him, they quickly started/finished breakfast. During which Grace squeaked, "I can't wait to see the look on their faces! Especially Annie's, she's going to be absolutely thrilled. Oh, I hope they wake up soon."

"No, no," Oliver halted. "We should wait."

"…Until the papers are signed?" she questioned.

"Let's wait until Christmas morning. It'll be a present to both of them. It's only a few days away," he suggested.

"That's a brilliant idea!" she cheered, but then sighed, "Though it's going to be a **long **few days."

Oliver laughed, "Think you'll be able to keep the secret?"

Biting her lip, Grace answered, "I hope so."

His eyes grew wide, "**Hope**?"

"Alright, alright… I promise I won't breathe a word," she groaned.

"That's my girl."

…

After breakfast, Grace went upstairs to wake Annie and Molly. Even though she couldn't tell them the splendid news, she couldn't help but want to spend time with her **girls**. She couldn't believe it: she was going to have another daughter! And Annie would have a sister, and she would be able to stop worrying about Molly being far away.

After Grace woke the girls, Molly felt well enough to sit up at the breakfast table. She was still eating pretty lightly, but at least she had much more of her strength back. Grace sat with them while they ate and listened to their conversations while she sipped her tea. She was fairly certain the girls were wondering why she was smiling so much, but they didn't question it aloud. Once breakfast was finished, Grace and Molly saw Annie off to school.

"So," Grace began as she took Molly's hand. "Mr. Warbucks is away on business for the day, so that leaves me free to spend some time with you."

Molly smiled, "Really? Don't you have work to do too?"

"Not very much," the woman answered. "Besides, now that you're feeling better, I'd hate to see you held up in your room and bored while Annie's at school."

"Yeah, it has been pretty boring the last couple of days," the little girl agreed.

"What do you feel like doing?" Grace asked.

With a shrug, Molly answered, "I don't know. Just not another card game!"

Grace laughed, "Yes, I'm sure you've played enough of those."

Just then, Sandy ran up to the two and jumped on Grace. She let out an 'oomf' and then suggested, "Do you feel like playing with Sandy? I think he's feeling a bit neglected these days."

"Yeah, that would be fun." Molly smiled. "Where are his toys?"

"Annie keeps them in a box underneath her bed."

"I'll go get them!"

The rest of the morning was spent playing with Sandy. Around lunch time, Molly was tired and didn't feel up for eating, so Grace let her sleep. Though she did wake up her up right before Annie was due to arrive home so she could eat.

"How are you feeling?" Grace asked as Molly ate.

"My stomach doesn't feel as nasty anymore."

"That's good. Are you still tired?"

Molly shrugged while taking a spoonful into her mouth. After swallowing, she answered, "A little bit."

"I'm home!" Annie called as she came barreling through the door.

"How was school, dear?" Grace asked.

"Good- how are you feeling Molly?"

"Better," she grinned. "I played with Sandy today!"

"Oh good! He needed some exercise." Annie knew that she'd been somewhat ignoring the dog lately. She felt bad, but Sandy wasn't sick, Molly was. Taking one of the crackers off of Molly's plate, she said before popping it in her mouth, "After I do some homework do you wanna sit downstairs and help me with a project I have to do?"

"You need my help?" Molly questioned. Why would a big kid like Annie need **her **help?"

Annie giggled, "Yeah, I gotta make a building out of clay. I thought it'd be fun for you to help me." Then turning to Grace, she asked, "Is that okay, Mom? I asked my teacher and she said I could have help as long as I did the research on my own."

"Yes, I don't see why not." The two girls cheered and then Annie began explaining more about the project to Molly, leaving Grace to think, _This is going to be wonderful._


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Posting this chapter is a bit bittersweet for me. Unfortunately, it's the last one for this story, but don't fret. Markaleen and I have already discussed a sequel and there's a great likelihood we will start it within the next few weeks. Writing this story has been a blast for me and I'm sad to see it end, but Markaleen and I didn't want to drag out the plot too far. I want to thank everyone who's followed, favourited, or reviewed. It means the world to me. I hope you enjoy the last chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

By the time Christmas week rolled around, Molly's sickness had been cured completely. She was no longer complaining about nausea and she was able to stay awake for longer periods of time. She'd also begun to leave her bedroom more during the day, either to play with Sandy or read outside on the terrace if the weather was nice enough.

Grace noticed that Molly was beginning to become quite the bookworm, having torn through Annie's library over the course of only a week (even the books that would be considered too mature for her) and now asking if she could read some of the books in Oliver's library. Grace simply chuckled at this request, giving Molly the easiest book she could find, which happened to be a survivor's recount of the RMS _Titanic's _sinking. Thinking that the little girl would be preoccupied for at least a day with that, Grace sat down again to work, but Molly finished the book within two hours and was back at the office, asking for another book.

"I think we'd better invest in some books for her for Christmas," Grace said, chuckling to herself as she sat back down once she had found a suitable book for Molly. Oliver looked up from the document he was working on and chuckled, as well.

"She's a smart little girl." He stated and Grace smiled.

"Yes, she is. Perhaps a little bit too smart," she replied.

"Well, she has a passion for reading. We can't exactly say that's a bad thing, can we? That just means she's going to do well in school."

Grace nodded. "I suppose you're right." She agreed, sighing. Confused by this, Oliver now gave his wife his full attention.

"What's on your mind?" He asked.

"I just wish we could tell her about the adoption," Grace replied wistfully. "I think she's trying to drown out this world with all the books she's been reading. I can tell she's nervous at the thought of leaving us and Annie. It hurts me,"

Oliver's eyes softened at this and he got up from his desk, walking over towards his wife. He began to massage her neck. "I know, darling, but Christmas Eve is tomorrow. We won't have to keep this secret up for much longer. Soon we'll be able to let our little girls know."

Grace smiled up at him. "_Our _little girls," she said quietly. "I love the sound of that."

"As do I, my dear. As do I." He continued to massage her neck as they sat in silence, each of their minds preoccupied.

After a couple of minutes, a knock came at the office door and Annie came in, her schoolbag sagging on her shoulder.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Daddy Warbucks," she greeted and Grace smiled warmly at her.

"Hi, darling. How was your last day before winter break?" She asked and Annie smiled widely.

"Really good, actually! We had a Christmas party and everyone brought in dessert. I was able to bring home some cookies for Molly. Has she been down some more today?"

Grace smiled. "Indeed she has. She finished reading all of your books and now she's moved onto some of your father's."

Annie returned her mother's grin, giggling a little bit. "Teaching her to read was one of the best things I've ever done." She declared, giving her mother and father each a quick kiss on their cheeks. "I'm going to go check on her."

"Alright, darling. You girls have fun." Grace replied as she watched her daughter leave the office, wide smile spread across her face. _Soon_. Soon she would be able to give Molly just as much love as she did Annie.

…

"Annie! Annie! _**Annie**_!"

A little girl's frightened cry was heard from down the hall and Annie shot up in her bed, startled at this. Once she adjusted to her surroundings, the little redhead realised what was going on. Molly had woken up from another nightmare and was now calling out for Annie to come and comfort her. Sighing, the girl pulled herself out of bed and began to walk towards Molly's room down the hallway.

Shortly after Molly had begun to get a bit of her strength back, Oliver and Grace insisted that the little girl stop sharing a room with Annie, much to both of their dismay. The reasoning behind this, Grace said to reassure herself that this was a good decision, was that Annie was beginning to suffer from fatigue in the mornings even though her bedtime and wake up time hadn't changed. She was puzzled by this at first, wondering what had happened to cause this. She then realised that it was because Annie was comforting Molly when she would wake up from one of her nightmares (which occurred as frequently as the sun rose each morning). Grace's heart went out to the littler of the two girls, knowing she must have been through a lot in her life, but she needed to make sure Annie was well rested for school. She hated to separate the girls, especially when Molly burst into tears at the idea, but at least until winter break for Annie started, it was what needed to be done.

Molly seemed to be adjusting well to sleeping on her own though, with only two nightmares in the past week. That's what the little girl had claimed, at least, but Annie suspected Molly was fudging the truth a little bit. She'd been woken up almost nightly by her friend's frightened cries for the past two years, so she was well aware that Molly had nightmares frequently. She found it a bit odd that they would suddenly stop now. The redhead decided to give her little friend a break, though. She knew Molly was embarrassed by how easily she got upset, at least when she had calmed down.

Now, though, embarrassment was the farthest thing from Molly's mind as she tried desperately to calm down. Screaming and crying with tears streaming down her face, the little girl clutched one of her pillows as she sat up against the headboard. Annie's heart broke a little when she saw just how upset Molly was and she hurriedly rushed to her friend's side, up onto the bed and pulling Molly in for a hug.

"Shh...Molly, it's okay. I'm here," Annie whispered softly as she caressed Molly's hair, one of the surest ways she knew to calm the little girl in her embrace. Molly was shaking in her arms, indicating that this particular nightmare had been pretty nasty.

"Annie…" Molly whimpered and Annie simply continued to stroke her friend's hair. Never had she ever seen Molly so shaken up, not even when the little girl had a dream about her mother's untimely demise.

"That's right, Molly. I'm here. Annie's here." The redhead soothed, "Did you have a bad dream?"

Molly nodded as she continued to cry. Annie placed a kiss on Molly's cheek.

"Tell me about it," she prompted gently, waiting patiently for Molly to calm down to the point where she could speak again.

"T-the big ship, Annie, the one that hit the iceberg...we were all on it-you, me, your mommy and your daddy, but you guys all died and I was left all alone again, with Miss Hannigan. I was an orphan...f-forever. I had no mommy and daddy. Ever," Molly burst into tears again and Annie brought her in tight, pressing her lips to Molly's forehead as she wondered what ship Molly was talking about.

As she looked around the room, she caught sight of a book entitled _The Sinking of the Titanic _on the nightstand and knew at once that it had frightened the little girl.

"Oh, Molly.." Annie sympathised, "That'll never happen. The _Titanic _sank a really long time ago and you're never gonna be in that situation. I promise. I'd protect you."

Hiccuping, Molly looked up to her friend. "But, Annie, all the kids on the ship had mommies and daddies to protect 'em and they couldn't."

"Yeah...but I don't think anyone's planning on taking us on a ship anytime soon. And besides, they've made ships a lot safer since then. I don't think you have to worry about that, Molly."

After thinking about this for a moment, Molly looked back up to Annie, her large brown eyes teeming with the utmost trust. She truly believed in everything Annie had said. "Annie...will you stay with me tonight? I know your mommy is mad at me for keepin' you up, but I really don't wanna be all by myself. Please?" The little girl begged softly and Annie smiled, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Of course, Molly. I'd be glad to stay with you. My mom isn't mad at you, though. She was just worried about me being tired for school. But I don't have to go to school for a while now, so it doesn't matter. What matters is that it's getting late and you need to get to sleep. Christmas Eve is tomorrow. You need your energy."

Finding no reason to protest to this, Molly just nodded and curled up into a ball, still in Annie's embrace as she let her eyelids slowly get heavier. "Annie...sing to me." She requested tiredly, the last word trailing off as she began to fall into a deep slumber again. Annie giggled and began stroking Molly's hair once more, happy to oblige with her request as she began to sing "Maybe". It seemed fitting tonight.

…

The next morning, Grace was awake fairly early (at least for her). Most mornings, she woke up around six or seven, when Annie had school, but today she had woken up at five thirty, wide awake and ready for the day. Part of the reason being that she had a lot to accomplish before the girls woke up, but mainly because she was eager to get on with the day. Annie was finally out of school for winter break, which meant that the four of them could spend some time together.

Grace was just glad Molly was finally feeling well again. The poor girl had been so miserable during the worst of her illness and none of them had wanted to leave the house due to that. One day, Grace suggested that they all go to see the Macy's Santa Claus, thinking Molly would be able to handle being out for a couple hours. The motion of the car moving, though, was too much for Molly's already upset stomach and within ten minutes, they were back at the mansion so Molly could rest again. Both of the girls had been heartbroken at this, so to compensate, Oliver and Grace assured them they could write letters to Santa instead so he would still know what they wanted.

Now, though, it was Christmas Eve and Grace had big plans for the day. It was the first day they would be able to spend as a family, even if Annie and Molly didn't know yet they were sisters. Grace was determined to make this a day both of them would remember for years to come. Out of anyone she knew, these little girls needed something bright in their lives.

By nine, Grace had finished all she needed to do. Her Christmas shopping was done, the caterers were set for the small Christmas get together she and Oliver were hosting and the very _special _gift they had bought for Molly had arrived. Everything was in place except for the fact she had two little girls upstairs, both still fast asleep. After eating a quick breakfast, she went upstairs to wake the girls up.

"Good morning, girls," Grace whispered, peeking her head into Molly's room. She'd gone to wake up Annie first, but after finding her bed empty, she'd assumed the redhead was with the littler girl. Her predictions had been right; Molly was snuggled into Annie's side, sucking her thumb as Annie had a protective arm around the little girl, snoring softly. A smile crept onto Grace's face at the scene as she slowly came over to the girls. She sat down lightly on the edge of the bed and reached out to stroke Annie's curls back from her forehead. The little girl stirred quickly.

"Merry Christmas Eve, darling." Grace whispered quietly once Annie had woken up. Annie smiled at this, sitting up slowly and gently detaching herself from Molly's grasp so as not to disrupt her.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Mom." She replied. "I'm really sorry that I'm here again, but the book Molly read yesterday, the one about the _Titanic_ really scared her. She had a nightmare that we were on it and died and she was alone. It's the most upset I've ever seen her about a nightmare. I didn't want to leave her." Annie replied and Grace smiled.

"That's very sweet of you, darling. You don't have to apologize, you know. I'm not mad at you. I'm glad that Molly was able to get you." She leaned forward to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Perhaps we should make sure she's reading books that are more age appropriate, though."

Annie smiled and nodded. "I think so." She agreed, looking down to the little girl sleeping peacefully beside her and beginning to stroke her hair a little bit. "Have you guys found anyone who wants to adopt?"

Grace smiled even wider. "We have, actually. I think she's going to be pleased with who we found."

Annie's eyes grew wide at this. "Really?! Who is it?" She asked and Grace simply shook her head.

"You'll just have to wait and see, my dear. Something tells me that both you girls will be happy with the situation we've set up, though."

Annie opened her mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted when Molly moved next to her, finally awakening from her slumber.

"Annie! It's Christmas Eve!" The little girl explained once her eyesight had adjusted to the blinding sunlight streaming in through the window.

Annie giggled at Molly's excitement and nodded. "Yeah, it is." She confirmed. "Merry Christmas Eve, Molly."

The brunette wrapped her small arms around Annie's waist. "Merry Christmas Eve, Annie!" She let Annie go and finally noticed that Grace was sitting on the bedside.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Mrs. Warbucks!" The little girl greeted and Grace smiled broadly, though her heart tugged a little when Molly called her Mrs. Warbucks yet again. She'd told the little girl multiple times to simply call her Grace, but she refused to, insisting it was rude if she didn't call her Mrs. Warbucks.

"Merry Christmas Eve, sweetheart. We've got quite the day ahead of us, my dears. We'd better get going." She said now, letting the thoughts about what Molly called her roll off her back. Soon enough, Molly would officially be her little girl.

At hearing Grace's statement, the girls glanced at each other, excited to see what the day had in store for them. They both scrambled off the bed and took Grace by the hand, leading her downstairs, seemingly having gained a sudden burst of energy. Freshly made pancakes were waiting for them on the table when they arrived in the dining room and Grace sat with them while they ate, smiling at their conversations. For as far as the foreseeable future went, each meal would go on this way and she loved it.

...

"Alright, girls it's _bedtime_." Grace insisted for the third time in the past twenty minutes as she watched Annie and Molly engage in a pillow fight energetically. She glanced at her watch and nearly passed out when she saw the time. It had been a long enough day as it was without having to add in two rambunctious little girls who refused to sleep.

Oliver and Grace spent most of the afternoon taking the girls around New York so they could see the sights and then going home so they could entertain the few guests they'd invited for Christmas Eve dinner.

It was almost eleven now, way past the time either girl should have been in bed. They refused to go to sleep, though, partly due to all the sugar they'd had at the Warbucks Christmas Eve dinner and partly due to the fact that Christmas was almost here. Annie was determined to stay up to see Santa Claus and she'd even gotten Molly into her scheme, though the younger of the two girls seemed to be much less enthusiastic about the holiday than her older friend was.

Grace's heart had just about shattered earlier on in the evening when the girls wrote their letters to Santa Claus. Annie's letter was nearly two pages long, with a detailed list of the toys, books, clothes and games she wanted, but Molly's wish list was nowhere near that length. Within ten minutes of starting her list, the little girl was done and when she asked Grace to check it over for any errors, written on the slightly yellowed paper in childish and barely legible scrawl was:

_Dear Santa,_

_All I want for Christmas is a mommy and a daddy as great as Annie's are. _

_Love,_

_Molly _

Reading this was almost too much for Grace to bear and if Oliver hadn't been there to stop her, she'd have scooped the little girl up in her arms right then and there, not letting her go until she was satisfied Molly understood where she belong. She wanted to make Christmas special, though, so even though it pained her to see Molly so sad, she knew it would be worth it.

"_Mo-om_! We aren't tired!" Annie protested now, shaking Grace out of her thoughts. The woman chuckled at this.

"That doesn't change the fact that it's bedtime, my dear. In case you've forgotten, tomorrow is Christmas and you both have a long day ahead of you because of it,"

"But what about seeing Santa Claus?" Annie asked.

"He may not come for a very long while, Annie. I think it's best if you girls just get to sleep."

Annie pouted a little before her eyes lit up the way they did when she had an idea. "Can we at least sleep by the fireplace so that when he comes in we can hear him?"

Grace smiled at her daughter's clever way of bargaining and sighed, nodding. "I suppose that would be fine." She relented, knowing that if she didn't the girls would never get to sleep.

Annie and Molly both cheered at this and Grace allowed herself a small smile, taking each girl by the hand and leading them up to their respective rooms. She instructed them to use the bathroom once more before bed while she got pillows, blankets and Molly's beloved stuffed animal. The girls met her back downstairs in the study within five or so minutes and helped Grace make a fort of blankets and pillows.

Once satisfied at their creation, both girls lay down together, Molly immediately snuggling with Annie as both their sugar highs began to wear off. Grace knelt down beside the girls and before she had a chance to say anything, Molly had already fallen fast asleep, her teddy bear wrapped in a tight embrace. Chuckling at this, she kissed the girl's forehead softly before saying her goodnights to the redhead. Annie fell asleep almost as quickly as Molly had, but Grace sat by the two of them for fifteen or so minutes just to make sure they were truly asleep before heading towards her and Oliver's suite.

He was already dressed in his nightclothes when she arrived, sitting up in their bed and reading a book. Grace let the door shut quietly behind her as she stepped in and Oliver looked up at this, stifling a chuckle when he saw her exhausted face.

"Energetic, were they?" He simply asked and she smirked, nodding.

"I've learned a valuable lesson today, it seems. Never give two girls who have enough energy to fuel a car as it is candy. That's just asking for quite the eventful bedtime." She replied as she began to change into a nightgown. He chuckled.

"They had a good day, though." He reminded her and she nodded again, now sitting down on her side of the bed.

"They did, they did. I'm glad for that," she sighed. "Did you read Molly's letter to Santa Claus? My heart just about broke when I saw it."

Oliver sat up a bit straighter now, his eyebrow furrowing a little bit. "What'd it say?" He asked.

"She said all she wanted for Christmas was parents as good as we are to Annie. I feel so bad for that poor little girl, Oliver. I'm so relieved and glad that we're adopting her, but I just wish it hadn't taken this long for her to find a family. She deserves so much more."

Oliver smiled a little and reached his hand out for Grace to take. "I know, darling. It's hard to see and we'll probably have to do some damage control over the next few months, but what's important is that Molly's ours now. She has parents to be there for her and she has one of the most caring big sisters there is. She'll be okay."

Grace smiled back at him. "How come you always know what to say?" She asked quietly. He smirked and leaned over to kiss her.

"Because I'm very, very smart." He replied once they had pulled away. He gave her a knowing smile and well experienced where that could lead, Grace simply rose from the bed, going towards the door and locking it.

"I have to play Santa Claus in a couple of hours, Oliver. Don't forget that." She said as she came back towards him, letting herself into his warm embrace.

"I won't forget, my dear, but the girls have had enough fun of their own for the day. I highly doubt they'll be waking up anytime soon. Now it's time for us to have some fun." He replied, kissing her neck softly. Grace giggled lightly and closed her eyes, his gentle pecks feeling calming to her.

She certainly did need some of this tonight, especially after the month she'd had. Between worrying about Molly when she had been "missing", worrying about her when she'd gotten ill, and just worrying about her and Annie in general, she and Oliver had barely been able to find any time for intimacy. Tonight, though, things were finally smoothed out. Molly was finally going to a _good_ home, she and Annie were going to be sisters, and the both of them would be her little girls.

What more did she want, or need?

…

Grace woke up fairly early again the next morning, around six thirty. Oliver was already up when she decided it was time to open her eyes, getting ready for the day in their ensuite bathroom. She reluctantly got up herself when he reminded her of the two little girls they had downstairs, both most likely more than excited to open their presents.

"We're finally going to be able to tell her this morning," Grace said, her eyes lighting up once she had woken up enough to realise what this morning meant for their family.

Oliver kissed his wife's cheek. "Yes, my dear, we will. Shall we go downstairs and see how the girls are doing?"

Grace nodded eagerly. "Please." She replied and he chuckled heartily at this, taking her by the hand and leading her out of their bedroom. They were met at the foot of the marble staircase by two very excited little girls, both chattering a mile a minute.

"Mom! Daddy Warbucks! It's _Christmas_!" Annie exclaimed loudly once her parents had stepped off the staircase, a wide smile spread across her face.

Grace smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately. "Yes, my dear, I believe you're right. Did you girls see your presents yet?"

Molly bobbed her head. "Mrs. Warbucks, there are _so many _presents! There's even some for me!" She replied, fully amazed.

"Of course there are some for you, dear. Now, what do you girls say we go eat some breakfast?" Oliver asked now, smiling down at both girls. "The sooner we eat, the sooner you can open presents."

At this reasoning, Annie and Molly both nodded, leading Oliver and Grace into the dining room as they wondered aloud to one another what they'd gotten for Christmas.

…

"Gee, Annie, your mommy and daddy are real nice to get me all these Christmas presents…" Molly said wistfully a couple hours later as she sat beside Annie on the floor, each surrounded by the piles of presents the'd just finished opening.

The girls had practically scarfed down their breakfasts that morning, both way too eager to see what Santa had brought them. The four of them had finished their meals within twenty minutes and then all gathered in the mansion's front foyer where the large evergreen Christmas tree stood. Oliver and Grace passed each girl their respective presents and they tore through them at a record speed, squealing as they opened each one.

Now that they were finished, Molly seemed to have suddenly gotten a burst of depression at the fact that she still hadn't been adopted. She was really holding out for Santa to come through for her.

Noticing the little girl's face, Grace nudged Oliver and gave him a knowing smirk. Smiling at her, he unwrapped her hand from around his arm and got up, taking the small jewelry box from his tuxedo pocket. He crossed over to the girls and knelt down in front of Molly.

"Actually, darling, we have one more present for you." He said and Molly looked up at him, curiosity taking over her face.

Seeing the blue Tiffany's box in her father's hand brought a wide smile to Annie's face, for the little redhead had a pretty good hunch what was inside the box. Oliver winked at Annie before opening up the box to reveal a copper coloured heart-shaped necklace.

Molly gasped. "Is this….for me?" She asked, her voice barely audible. Oliver smiled and took the locket out of the box.

"It is, darling." He confirmed as Molly bowed her hair, letting him clasp it around her neck. Once it was on, her small hands reached for it and she looked at the inscription engraved on it.

"'To Molly, with love from Mama and Daddy'" She read aloud, her confusion growing more and more. "What's this mean?"

Grace got up from where she was sitting now, joining her husband so that they were both knelt down in front of the little girl. "Molly...darling, we have a very important question to ask you." She began.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"How would you feel if the two of us adopted you?" Oliver asked and Annie gasped from where she was beside Molly, her smile growing wider.

Molly seemed to be speechless. "A-adopt me?" She asked quietly. "Like...you'd be my parents?"

Grace smiled and took the little girl's hand. "If that's alright with you, my dear." She said gently.

Molly jumped up from where she was sitting, wrapping her arms tight around Oliver and Grace. "Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Warbucks," she whispered, grateful.

Seeing the look that flashed across her mother's face when Molly called them 'Mr. and Mrs. Warbucks' again, Annie giggled.

"You don't have to call them that anymore, you know. They're your mom and dad now." She pointed out now and Molly's smile grew even wider.

"Your sister's right." Oliver replied.

"Annie...you're my _sister_!" Molly exclaimed, running from Grace and Oliver to Annie and wrapping her arms around the redhead's waist in the purest joy she'd ever felt.

Annie smiled, her eyes softening as she kissed Molly's forehead. "And you're mine...I told ya, Molly. I told ya you'd find a mama and daddy."

Molly smiled as she squeezed Annie once more. "I love you, Annie."

"I love you, too, Molly."

The two girls embraced for a couple moments before Molly pulled away, going back over towards Oliver and Grace. Grace smiled at the little girl at her feet and picked her up, cuddling her on her lap.

"Mama...I love you." Molly said, whispering into her new mother's ear. Grace's eyes softened at what the six-year-old had just called her, holding her tighter now.

"And I love you, my darling little girl. I'm so very glad we could give you a home." She replied.

1933 had brought a lot of changes to the Warbucks mansion and now as Oliver and Grace watched their beloved little girls play together, they each smiled at one another, knowing that whatever struggles had come along with the changes, they wouldn't trade it for the world. 1934 was looking bright and they couldn't wait to see it.


End file.
